Together Forever Continued
by MeeshaMeeshaPup
Summary: The story takes place ten years after the "Together Forever" ending. Ib and Mary, Ib now 19 and Mary 17, go back to the museum where it all started and they are once again trapped in Guertena's World. They now must fight to survive the world together and along the way find a long lost companion. IbXGarry *This is my first ever story so critisism is appreciated! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"Together Forever"

_The drive to the gallery was a long one. It was worth the long trip, considering they were going to see Guertena's art gallery. It was beautiful. Everything about his paintings was beautiful. That was what led them to visit the exhibit all those years ago. That sole reason was why they were going to visit today. _

Ib sat in the backseat of her family's fairly new white sedan. She looked out the window in deep concentration. The drive may have been a bit long, but she enjoyed it. She loved staring out the window and watching the fields of wild flowers the car sped past. Ib focused on the flowers and worked on stamping them into her memory. She wanted to keep the picture in her mind so that she could sketch them later. _They're so gorgeous_, she thought.

Just as Ib was memorizing the last field of flowers, her sister called out to her. "What are you doing Ib?" Ib turned towards her.

"I'm just memorizing the flowers. They're really pretty."

"What? You're weird."

"I want to draw them later. I have to memorize all their features."

"Oh. Well anyway, can I have some more of those lemon candies?"

"More? You just had some earlier. I'm trying to save them."

"Please? Just one!"

"Oh, fine. But just one."

"Yay! Thank you, Ib!"

Ib handed her sister a lemon candy. Her sister really loved those little things. Ib loved them, too. She always carried them around with her. But she didn't just carry them because she enjoyed their sweetness. They gave her a nostalgic feeling. She always felt a twinge of sadness whenever she thought about them for too long. She could never figure out why.

The same went for her sister, Mary. But it wasn't just a bit of sadness. It was a different feeling that was difficult to describe. It had some sadness and a tiny bit of anger mixed in. It also had pity. There were even times Ib felt like Mary was a complete stranger, even though she had known her sister all her life. She never liked to think about it. "Ib, what are you staring at?" Mary asked.

"U-um, nothing. I'm just spacing out."

"What an airhead!"

"Who's the airhead? I'm not the one who misplaced my sunglasses on my head yesterday."

"You would have too if you-"

"Girls, girls! Please don't argue. Look, there's the sign to the art gallery. We're here."

Ib smiled. "Alright, mother. I was just teasing."

"Yeah, mom. We were playing. I would never be mean to my big sister!" Mary giggled.

Mary reached out and hugged Ib. Ib blushed slightly. Her little sister was cute. Even more so, now that she cut her wavy blonde hair just above her shoulders. The hairstyle looked refreshing on Mary and complimented her slender shoulders.

"I'm glad you girls get along. Now let's get out there and have a great time in the museum. By the way, this was a fantastic idea, Ib." Ib's father added.

Going to Guertena's art exhibit was purely Ib's idea. The week before, Ib found an advertisement in the mail that showed a special discount for visiting the exhibition. The ad mentioned that more works of Guertena had recently been discovered and they were a must see. A yearning feeling overcame Ib and she convinced her parents to take the trip. For some reason, she desperately wanted to see the gallery.

The family walked up to the front desk and proceeded to buy their tickets. Ib looked around and felt waves of wistfulness. The museum looked almost exactly the same as it did ten years ago. Ib and Mary skipped through the gallery and were giggling, often saying things like "Look, do you remember this?" or "Wow, this one is new!" They soon discovered that a new wing was added to the building in order to accommodate the new pieces. Mary stayed behind to observe other art pieces while Ib went ahead.

_"This is such a lovely exhibit" _Ib admired. She made her way down the corridor, appreciating each work she laid her lively, red eyes upon. She eventually reached the end of the wing. As she was about to turn around and go back, she saw another corridor in the corner of her eye. Ib smiled with excitement and hurriedly walked toward the hallway. To her surprise, it came to a dead end only a few feet away. The hall was dimly lit and the lights flickered. The walls appeared to be drywall and looked unfinished. Had Ib not been looking carefully she would not have seen there was a painting hanging at the end of the hallway.

Ib slowly walked up to the painting, thinking how strange it was for this passageway to end abruptly and for it to be neglected like this. She also found it extremely odd someone had decided to hang a painting here.

Ib could barely see the painting in the dim light. She quickly pulled her cellphone out from the small leather satchel that was hanging from her shoulder. The bright light emitted from her phone allowed Ib to see the painting in all its entirety.

The art piece depicted what looked like a sleeping man with very light purple hair. The man looked no more than twenty years old. He was wearing a dark ragged looking jacket and a plain green shirt. He was holding a beautiful blue rose and was also completely surrounded by them. Ib looked down to the title, which read _Forgotten Portrait. _She thought that the name suited the painting, considering it was placed in this odd corridor, out of sight.

The painting was very different from the rest of Guertena's works. It did not display the same themes or color schemes as the rest of the paintings, yet it was without a doubt a painting done by Guertena. There was no mistaking the style and brushstrokes.

Ib could not tear her gaze away from the painting. She thought that the man in the painting looked familiar. She wondered if she had met him somewhere before. _"Huh? That's impossible. He's a painting. I could never have met him somewhere." _Even so, Ib could not shake the feeling that she knew the man. Confused, Ib dug around in her memory and thought that perhaps the man simply resembled someone she already knew. She dug deeper and deeper while still staring at the beautiful art.

Suddenly, something clicked in her head. "Garry…" she whispered. Ib surprised herself. Where did she get that name from? As she pondered this, she noticed there were tears flowing down her cheeks. She could not figure out why and wiped her tears away. But they would not stop.

She stood there crying and bewildered, unable to stop the waterworks and her thoughts of the man. Garry. She could not stop thinking about Garry. Garry. He was with her. He was always with her in that place. Why wasn't he here? Where was he? A sudden flow of memories that were once locked overcame Ib. She collapsed on the floor.

Ib saw flashbacks of Garry and her. She could see her nine-year-old self and the twenty-year-old Garry. She remembered how they were trapped in Guertena's world of paintings and she remembered giving him back his beautiful blue rose and how he was easily frightened by anything that jumped out and how he was very strong and could move all those heavy statues and how he would carry her away from danger and how he would hold her hand as they walked down the corridors and the scent of his jacket that he let her borrow while she was unconscious and that wonderful hard lemon candy he gave her and how they were they were separated and how she slapped him back to his senses when she found him and how he sacrificed his rose to Mary so that Ib would not lose hers and she remembered how peaceful he looked while sleeping after Mary ripped up his precious blue rose.

Ib's tears began to run down even more. She realized something. _"He really wasn't sleeping…was he?"_ She sobbed harder on the floor at the horrible realization. How could she not see it before? How could she have possibly forgotten about that? How could she forget Garry? _"Oh, Garry. Garry, Garry, Garry, Garry. I'm so sorry. I left you all alone in that world. I abandoned you and then I forgot about you. I'm so, so sorry."_

She sat there crying for a long time. Ib heard a voice call out to her. She did not care to respond. The voice got closer and closer. Ib felt a hand softly touch her shoulder and she finally looked up. Even through her watery eyes and the dim hall, Ib could clearly see Mary's bright blonde hair and vibrant sky blue eyes. She looked concerned. "What's wrong, Ib?" Mary asked.

Ib instinctively flinched away from Mary's touch. She backed away from her sister. Or was this girl really her sister? What was she to Ib? Was Mary really related to Ib? _"No. Mary really isn't related to me. She's a painting that came from that world. She…she killed Garry…"_

Ib stood up and walked away from Mary. Her little sister looked hurt. Mary also stood up and followed Ib. "Ib, wait. Where are you going? What's wrong?" she called.

"Don't follow me, Mary." Ib blankly stated. She began to walk faster.

Mary sped up to keep up with Ib. "Stop, Ib! Why were you crying?"

"Leave me alone." Ib retorted. She broke out into a sprint and ran directly into another passageway. Mary did the same.

"Ib! Why are you running away?!"

Ib ran into different hallways and corridors trying to lose Mary. After some time, Ib lost sight of her sister. She stopped to catch her breath. She was having trouble breathing. _"Oh…"_ she thought, _"I shouldn't be running like that in my condition." _Ib rested until she stopped panting.

She then looked up and saw a long painting that took up most of the wall in the long hall. Ice ran down her spine. It was the painting she saw all those years ago. It was the one that sent her to that world and trapped Garry and her. She read the title. _Fabricated World. "I have to leave this place now." _Ib thought frantically.

"Ib… wait… stop…"

Ib turned her head and saw Mary slowly walking towards her. An alarm went off in Ib's mind. She couldn't abandon her sister.

"Mary, quickly! We have to get away from here right now!" Ib yelled.

"What? I'm really tired right now. What are you-?"

It was too late. The ground started to shake violently. Ib and Mary were knocked to the ground. The lights flickered. The music that played in the museum suddenly came to a halt.

The shaking only lasted for a few seconds. As the girls collected themselves off the floor, Ib noticed that it was eerily quiet. She saw a new message below the painting. _"Come along girlies. I have a big surprise for you." _Her heart sank. She walked over to Mary and helped her up. Mary asked, "What happened?"

Ib didn't respond. Mary of all people should know what was going on. For all Ib knew, Mary could be the cause of this. "Come this way, Mary." She simply said.

The girls made their way made out of the wing. There was nobody in sight. They went down the stairs to the first floor. The lights flickered and then went out. Mary screaked in fright and tried to open the front entrance door, but it wouldn't budge. She tried the windows, but they were sealed shut. Ib rolled her eyes in the darkness. They left the front entrance and strode toward the large painting on the floor. There was fresh blue paint around it and a message. Ib read it aloud. _"Come and play once again Ib, Mary." _

"What… what does it mean 'play again'? What's going on Ib?" Mary panicked.

Ib stared at her. Did Mary really not remember? Ib thought that it could be possible, considering that she had also no memory of this place up until thirty minutes ago.

Ib grabbed Mary's hand. "We have to jump in. That's the only way we can get out of this place."

"What do you mean? How can we jump into a painting? You're being crazy Ib!"

"Mary, please trust me. I would never lie to you."

Mary thought about that statement for a moment and then hesitantly muttered, "Alright. I trust you, then."

"Okay. We jump after three…One…" Ib began.

"Two…" Mary counted.

"…and…Three!" Ib shouted

The girls jumped into the painting and there was an audible splash. It was pitch black, but they could soon see again and they realized they were underwater. The scenery that was depicted in the painting was all around them. Ib and Mary were fascinated by it, taking in the colorful fish and underwater bubbles.

And then, just as suddenly as they were faced by the scenery, it disappeared. The girls found themselves standing in a shadowy room with dark blue walls. They gradually tiptoed down the stairs in front of them, not wanting to make any sound. There were paintings on the wall that were familiar to Ib. She recognized them from when she first came here. _ "If this is the same place"_, she supposed, _"then what we need is this way."_

Ib and Mary walked hand in hand to the left hallway. Mary held Ib's hand tightly. Ib viewed back and gave her sister a reassuring smile. Mary shakily smiled back. Ib unexpectedly became aware of herself and swiftly spun her head back to the front, but did not let go of her sister's hand. What was she doing? This girl wasn't related to her. Mary is a painting. Ib had to understand that. But even if she did, Ib still felt a fondness for the girl.

They reached the end of the passage which was only a short walk. Ib saw what she was both expecting and not expecting. What she was expecting was a red rose in a vase on a small desk. What she was not expecting was another vase with a rose in it. The vase held a healthy yellow rose. Ib examined it and concluded that it wasn't a fake. _"What's going on? Mary is a painting. The last time we were here, her rose was fake. But this one is real. It's just as real as mine and Garry's."_

She handed the yellow rose to Mary. "Keep that rose safe at all costs." Ib said.

"Yeah, I know. If I don't I'll get hurt." Mary said. Surprised, Ib was at loss for words. Had Mary been playing dumb this whole time?

"Um…I kind of remembered this place after we jumped into the painting." Mary went on.

Ib paused for a few moments and then said gently, "…so…you remember everything…?"

Mary averted her eyes to the floor. "Yeah…I saw the way you were staring at my rose. It's not supposed to be real, right? But it is. I know what I am. I remember what I did."

Ib did not speak. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Mary knew she was a painting that escaped from this world and that she killed Garry. What should Ib do? As she was thinking, Ib heard a small sniffle. She looked at Mary. Her little sister was crying.

"Ib… you know…if you want to leave me behind…I'll understand. I would do the same thing if I were you. I would hate me too. I mean, who wouldn't? I did some pretty bad things. I… I killed Garry. I know I did. And I did it for fun. _For fun… _I'm really terrible. I'm just an evil painting. I'm not really your sister at all. And I don't deserve to be anyway…" Mary managed between her tears.

"Mary, I don't think-" Ib started.

"You _should _leave me behind. You would be safer without me. I could hurt you. I could hurt you really badly. I could even… do to you what I did to Garry. I really don't want that to happen! I don't want anything bad to happen to you!" Mary exclaimed. She was becoming hysterical.

Ib snatched her sister's hands. "No. I won't leave you."

"Ib, please! It's the only way!"

"I refuse to leave my sister behind."

"I'm not really your sister, Ib. Haven't you been listening? Or is your memory just faulty?"

"My memory is perfectly fine. Do you want me to prove it? I can recall us growing up together. I remember when you graduated middle school. I can recollect how you tried to make me a cake for my birthday and how you nearly burned down the whole kitchen. I can still clearly picture you taking care of me when I was really sick. I can remember us always being together. We were the inseparable sisters. Even if we're not related, in my eyes, you are still my cute little sister. I could never hate you. I still love you, Mary."

Mary stopped short. She took in Ib's words. She let them sink in. After a long while, Mary breathed, "But I'm not real. I'm another painting from this world. I'm not human."

Ib thought for a few moments, but then continued, "Mary do you see this rose? Does it look fake to you?"

"…No…"

"Exactly. The fact that this rose isn't fake means that you're not a fake either. It think means that you're not just a painting anymore. I think… it means you're a part of the real world now."

"You're right… I didn't think you would figure it out."

"Huh?"

"The only way for me to get out of this place was to take the place of another human. I remember that I really liked you Ib… so I took Garry's place so that I could live with you."

Ib put on a thoughtful expression. "So… basically… you took up his existence or life force and twisted reality so that you could be my little sister in the real world?"

"That's one way of saying it." Mary answered guiltily. "Sorry, I was just testing to see if you really meant what you said. I didn't want to be a burden on you. I don't wasn't you to suffer and end up stuck here like Garry." Mary thought for a moment and then continued.

"I didn't think anything of it before." She whispered. "You know, taking Garry's life…But now I know what I've done… I'm not sure if what I've done can be forgiven…"

Ib swallowed and hoped she would not regret saying these words. "What's done is done. You're here and Garry is… gone. We can't get him back. Garry is in the past and you are in the present, so as long as you're here and belong in the real world, I will never leave you here alone."

Mary looked at Ib and probably knew how hard it was to say those things. Saying it meant that Ib had to finally accept that she could never see Garry again and it pained her greatly. But Ib had to protect her little sister. She had to make sure she could do with Mary what she couldn't do with Garry: survive this horror till the end.


	2. Chapter 2

Together Forever Continued Ch. 2

Ib and Mary continued to venture through Guertena's World together. They found that it had changed since the last time they had been there. Even Mary, who had once been a part of this world, could barely manage to remember which corridor they had taken and where it led. It looked as if that the corridors and doors changed their positions at every turn they took.

Mary seemed a bit disappointed by the fact that she could not get around her old home as easily as she used to. Ib tried to comfort her, saying it has been ten years since the last time they were here, that it would happen to anyone that had not been in their "hometown" for a long time. Mary continued to sulk every time she could not remember which way they came from.

However, the girls also noticed something unusual about the paintings this time around. It appeared as though the paintings and sculptures remembered them. Whenever either Ib or Mary passed by the works, they could see from out of the corner of their eyes that the art pieces would change their position slightly in order to get a better glimpse of the sisters. It was as though the pieces were _astonished _to see that they had returned.

Mary also learned she had retained some connection to the world she left behind. She was still able to hear the whispers and conversations of the art pieces. At first she had no idea what was going on. She would hear a whisper and assume it was Ib and ask "Did you say something?" Ib would reply a simple no and the cycle went on. Mary began to get highly agitated, thinking Ib was playing tricks on her. It was Ib who finally concluded that what Mary was hearing was the paintings. Ib went on to suspect that if Mary could hear _them_, then perhaps they could hear _Mary_. But when Mary tried to communicate with the art, they would not respond. They later noticed that the paintings made sure to be careful about what they murmured around Mary. Mary was also disappointed by this.

As the girls travelled, Ib tried her best to keep both their spirits up. She chatted with Mary as though they were still at home and safe. She talked about school, friends, and what she would make for dinner when they got back. She wanted Mary to be at ease. Despite Ib's efforts, Mary remained anxious and lashed out at her older sister. "Would you give it a rest already Ib?! You don't have to open your mouth every damn second!" Mary snapped.

Ib was taken aback. Mary had not lashed out like that since the last time they were trapped in this world. Mary looked surprised with herself and lifted her hand over her mouth. "U-um… I'm sorry, Ib. I… um… didn't mean that. Sorry…" She stammered.

"No… It's alright. You're right. I was talking too much. I'm sorry." Ib said.

Mary looked down to her feet guiltily. To change the mood Ib exclaimed, "Oh, look! There's another symbol!" Ib ran over to a symbol of a detailed grapefruit that was painted on a piece of rough canvas. They were in the middle of solving a puzzle in order to get past a door. They had to find all the symbols that belonged in the painting titled _Fruits of Paradise. _This would have been an easy task, had they not have had to solve riddles and run away from other artworks that tried to attack them along the way. So far, Ib and Mary had found a delicious looking apple, an enormous watermelon, a bushel of bananas, and blood-red strawberries.

Ib picked up the symbol from the bookcase it rested upon. She held it in her hands for a few seconds before it disappeared, just as the rest had done. "Well…" She said, "I believe that means… we have two left to go." Mary groaned. Ib understood why. It was getting to be such a tedious task to find these things.

The sisters looked around the room they had entered before leaving. They wanted to see if there was anything useful to them. Mary rummaged around in the boxes on the floor, while Ib examined the books on the two bookcases that stood in the room.

Ib flipped through the books that talked about Guertena's work. She found nothing that was truly worth her time. She was about to retire from reading until she caught a glimpse of a book that looked especially worn. Intrigued, Ib reached for it and opened it. It was a book about color theory, but it had side notes scribbled everywhere throughout the book.

Through closer examination, Ib realized that they were written by Guertena himself. She read through them and found that as the book progressed, the notes became less coherent. They said things like "_My work has been completed"_, "_No, I can't leave this life now, I'm not finished"_, _"I'm going to become one with that world"_, _"In that place I can live forever"_, _"I will never be lonely there"_, and _"This place requires a soul to exist, so I shall give it mine."_

Ib reread the last scribble again. _"'This place requires a soul to exist…'?"_ Was that why she and Garry were trapped here all those years ago? To act as new life forces for this place to feed upon? Ib assumed the only reason they were trapped in the first place was so that Mary could take someone's place in order to live outside. It seems that was not the case.

And perhaps Mary was not aware of the ulterior motive of this world. Ib looked over to her sister, innocently still digging around in the boxes, occasionally throwing things out and putting something in her green dress pocket. As far as Ib has seen, Mary was the only creation of this world that was able to freely move around the world as she pleased and tell the other works what to do. All she wanted was to live peacefully in the outside world with Ib. Maybe Mary had a purpose in Guertena's World other than just being a simple painting with its own free will. Maybe… Maybe her original purpose was to bring people into this place so that it could absorb their souls.

Ib felt an uncomfortable twist in her stomach. She slammed the book shut. She hoped desperately that her theory would not come to light. She did not to want to be correct about this.

Mary called out to her big sister. "Ib! Look what I found!"

Ib jumped in surprise. Mary didn't seem to notice. "What is it?"

Mary held up a shiny object with a wooden handle. "It's my old palette knife!" she squealed in excitement. "I've been wondering what happened to it after I left it here."

Mary went on to stow away the palette knife in her pocket. She threw out other things she collected in order to make room for it. "Uh… Mary… Do you really think it's a good idea to carry that around? Especially after the last time we were here…" Ib trailed off.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… um… how's your mental state right now? How do you feel?"

"Excuse me?"

Ib sighed. She might as well come out with it. "Mary, the last time you carried that knife around you were a bit crazy and looked about ready to use it. Actually, you did use it. I believe you stabbed a helpless mannequin head multiple times because it was in your way, did you not? So do you think you can handle it with your current mental state?"

Mary looked embarrassed. "Of course I can. I don't _feel_ crazy, if that helps. And besides, I didn't have the best of mental health ten years ago. I doubt you would be sane either if you had to spend endless years in this place. I'm all better now. I think we can both agree that I'm not crazy anymore."

She had a point. "Well… I suppose it will be alright. But keep in mind that I'll be watching you very closely, Mary." Ib stated.

"Okay, mom." Mary jokingly answered with a smile. As she stood up, she yelped in pain. She lifted her hand over her chest.

"What's wrong, Mary?" Ib asked urgently.

"Ugh… Nothing. I'm alright." She managed through clenched teeth. She reached back into her pocket and pulled out both the palette knife and her yellow rose. It looked like she had kept them in the same dress pocket.

"Mary! What made you think that was a good idea? Is your rose alright?" Ib cried.

"I know. Sorry, I'll be more careful." Mary examined her rose. "It looks like only just one petal was torn off."

Ib exhaled heavily. "Do you want me to carry your rose for you? I could put it in my satchel with mine."

"No, really, it's fine. I'll be more careful with it. I promise."

"…Okay, then. Are we done here?"

"I guess if you are. I didn't find anything especially useful, except for my palette knife."

"Okay, let's go look for the next symbol!" Ib proclaimed.

Mary walked straight to the door. Ib hesitated for an instant. Then she quickly, before Mary could see it, stuffed the worn color theory book into her brown leather satchel. The two sisters then strode past the door and down a corridor they had not taken until now.

Ib loved to view the artwork that hung from the walls of the passage. She thought they looked wonderful, besides the malicious intent to kill the girls that was emitted from some of them.

She looked over each painting they passed by closely. At first she tried to discuss them with Mary, but her sister seemed more interested in talking about things such as her beloved palette knife. Ib soon kept her comments to herself.

Her favorite painting to look at was titled _The Heart's Desire_. It depicted a small girl smiling and laughing while hugging a tall man. It was very interesting to look at. She gazed at it the whole time the girls sat down to rest. Mary noticed her looking at it. "What are you looking at, Ib?" she asked.

Ib did not respond. She was entranced by the painting. Mary looked at her sister and then at the painting. "Ib, it's just a blank canvas. Look, it doesn't even have a title on the slate below it." Ib did not seem to notice her sister's presence. She continued to stare into the empty frame. Everything around Ib seemed to disappear into nothing.

_**Mary**_

Mary called out her sister's name, but she never responded. Worry began to seep into her mind. She started to shake Ib. "Ib? Ib! Can you hear me? Ib!" Ib continued to ignore Mary. _"What's going on?"_ Mary thought anxiously, _"Why isn't she answering me?"_ She shook Ib harder. Still, nothing.

Then, from behind her, Mary heard someone giggling. She nearly jumped out of her skin and stopped shaking her sister. She slowly rotated her head to look back. Surprisingly, there was no one behind her. She only saw a painting named _The Mocking Jester. _Mary was confused, until she remembered Ib's conclusion. She was able to hear the art work. It must have been a painting that giggled.

Mary swallowed hard. She tried not to let her fear reach her voice. "What are you doing? What are you doing to Ib?" She demanded. The only response she received was snickering.

She demanded again, "Answer me! What's going on with my sister?" Again, she heard the painting laughing at her. Anger replaced her fear and it came bubbling up from inside her. Mary whipped out her palette knife.

"Stop it! Stop laughing! If you don't answer me right now, I'll…I'll…" Mary shouted.

"You'll what?" A voice answered. It came from the jester in the painting.

Mary was struck speechless. Although she was shouting, she wasn't expecting a direct answer. She wasn't prepared. "I… um… I…Ib…What's wrong with Ib?" she stuttered.

The jester laughed some more before responding. "That lady belongs to this world now."

"What…What do you mean?" Mary questioned.

"That lady will become one with this world. She will be used to be used sustain this world."

"'Sustain this world…'? I still don't get it."

"Of course you wouldn't. Someone like you could never understand. At least not anymore, that is. But that lady… That lady understands." The jester spoke in a condescending tone. Mary remained silent. She didn't know what the jester was trying to convey.

The jester continued. "Ever since you left this world, it has needed a caretaker. That lady is the perfect candidate. Even before, we knew."

"Even before what?"

"Even before she came to this world for the first time. You most likely knew, too. That is why you brought her here that first time. You knew she would be even more of a successful caretaker than you had ever been. We never would have starved under her care. But soon you befriended her. All you wanted to do was play. How typical of children."

"I…don't know what you're talking about…"

"Have you forgotten? You are known to forget things easily, just as you forgot how you came to be in this world."

"…What…?"

"Poor, poor little Mary. Left all alone in this world. All alone for all these years and still can't remember why."

"…Shut up…"

"How lonely you must have been. A poor, lost, forgotten child left all alone in this world."

"Shut up."

"She cried and cried, but no one ever came. Why was that Mary? Why did no one ever come to save you?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up! Stop talking! Shut up!"

"_Remember, Mary. Remember why you are here._"

"Stop it! Shut up! Shut your mouth right now! Shut up, shut up!"

Mary covered her ears, but the painting continued to speak its horrible words. She heard it initiate it's terrible laughter again. She heard the rest of the paintings in the corridor laugh with it. Mary wanted it to stop. She wanted them all to stop.

Mary snapped. She ran over to the painting and ripped it from the wall. She slammed it to the ground and rammed her shoe into it. The frame cracked and the glass shattered. She stomped on it until it was unrecognizable as a frame that once held a painting. Mary then seized the painting itself and her palette knife. She stabbed through it multiple times and tore it into strips. Then she cut the strips into halves. Then quarters. Then eighths and so on.

Somewhere in all of this, the jester's laughter had turned to screaming. But Mary didn't care. In fact, she enjoyed it. She relished in every cry, beg, and call for mercy that resonated from its painted lips. She laughed hysterically while she slashed through the jester. She heartlessly shredded the painting until nothing was left of the unfortunate jester.

Mary sat on the floor, trying to catch her breath, after it was finished. The screams died down and all she could hear now was her own panting. It took her a long while to calm down.

Slowly, she came back to her senses. She looked over what was left of the painting. Mary was shocked with herself. _"What…have I done…?" _ As she sat trembling, trying to comprehend what had just happened, something wet fell on the back of her hand. She stared over the water. Another droplet fell. She realized they were her own tears. The water was coming from her eyes and dripping down her face.

"Mary…?"

Mary spun around and looked up to see Ib searching around in a daze. "I…I'm down here, Ib…" Mary breathed.

Ib tilted her head down and spotted her sister. She slowly sat down next to Mary. "What's going on? Why are you crying?" Ib asked almost distantly.

Mary didn't know how to answer. She didn't want to tell her older sister what happened, but she didn't want to lie either. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Ib and began to weep. And Ib, for some unknown reason, didn't question her further. She simply returned her sister's embrace. She allowed Mary to cling to her and sob her heart out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! Thank you for reading, I greatly appreciate every like and follow I've gotten. I just need to add a little disclaimer here. I did not make up the riddles that I wrote into the story. I just googled "Hard riddles and answers." Now that that is out of the way, continue reading and enjoy! **

It took Mary about twenty minutes to calm down. Ib did not mind, because it allowed her mind to fully wake up from the daze it was in. She had no idea what had happened. One minute she was walking with her sister and observing the paintings and the next she was standing next to a sobbing Mary with pieces of a ruined painting everywhere.

_"What happened?"_ Ib kept on wondering as she held her little sister. And Mary did not seem willing to tell her the truth. Even after Mary had stopped crying, she still would not answer Ib's question. Her mind was set on keeping the truth from Ib and would not budge. Ib soon gave up on trying to get an answer out of her. She knew that when Mary made up her mind, there was no convincing her sister otherwise.

Instead, Ib shifted her focus on Mary's wounds. Her hand and foot was bleeding. Mary had somehow gotten numerous small gashes over her right hand and fingers. Her left foot was in the same condition, if not worse. Ib could guess where these wounds came from. It looked as though Mary had used her palette knife to slash the painting apart and had gotten her hand in the process. Ib could also see that she had stomped on the glass of the frame. But Mary had sandals on. Her foot took a great amount of damage from the glass and it was cut in many places. _"At least her wounds don't look too deep."_ Ib thought with a sigh.

Ib always kept a few bandages in her satchel, but there was not nearly enough to cover Mary's injuries. She looked around the room to see if there was anything she could use. There was. Ib spotted a thin, long, white curtain hanging over a fake window. She swiftly dragged it down and proceeded to rip it into strips.

She set them down neatly and pulled out a brand new plastic water bottle. Ib opened it and poured water over Mary's cuts in an effort to clean them. She used the bandages on her little sister's fingers and wrapped her hand with the curtain strips. Ib went on to her foot. She pulled off the sandal and saw she had glass in her foot. Ib pulled out as much as she could, but worried there was still more caught deep in Mary's flesh. She cleaned her sister's gashes again and waited for them to stop bleeding before applying the curtain strips.

Ib had never treated wounds such as these before and hoped she did a good job. "Okay, Mary. I'm done. How do you feel?"

"Better, I guess. But it hurt really bad when you were taking out the glass." Mary pouted.

"It would not have hurt so much if you just stayed still and didn't squirm while I was doing it." Ib retorted. If she had energy to complain, then she really must be feeling better.

"If you're feeling better, then let's get going. We probably still have a long way to go."

"What? Why? Can't we just sit here for a while longer?"

"No, Mary. We have been sitting here long enough already. We need to get out of here as soon as possible." Even more so, now that Mary was injured. She needed to go to the hospital and have those wounds treated properly. There was no time to lose.

Mary put her sandal back on and stood up with Ib's help. "Do you think you can walk on your own?" Ib asked.

"Um…let me try…"

Mary let go of her sister and tried to walk. She took a few steps and nearly fell back down to the floor. Ib caught her just in time. "What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

Mary's face was twisted with pain. "It hurts…it hurts… my foot…" She said weakly. Ib grew more concerned. There really must still be glass stuck in her foot.

"Alright, then you can lean on me. I'll support you, Mary." Ib declared. She threw her sister's arm over her shoulders and helped her up once again.

"Ib… you should just leave me here. I'm just going to be a burden." Mary said.

"Do not start up with that again. I already told you, I'm never going to leave you behind."

"But…"

"No 'buts'. I refuse to leave you and that is final. I can be stubborn, too, Mary."

Mary stayed silent. Then she cried, "Wait, Ib. Look! There's something on the ground."

Ib looked down to where Mary was pointing. Underneath the pieces of shredded painting, was a big piece left intact. It did not look like it belonged with the rest of the shreds. The girls leaned down and inspected it further. It was a symbol. Or at least half of one. It was half a painting of a pomegranate.

As Ib leaned down more to grab it, Mary reached into the pocket of the Ib's red boyfriend cardigan. Ib was about to ask what she was doing, but then her sister stated, "Sorry, I noticed something bulging in there."

Mary pulled out another piece of rough canvas. It held another half of a painting of a pomegranate. The girls held up the pieces side by side and saw that they matched perfectly. They watched as the two symbols disappeared from their hands. There was the sound of a door unlocking somewhere.

"How strange." Ib said. "I don't remember that being in my pocket before."

"And I don't remember that symbol being on the floor before." Mary added.

Ib did not think about it for too long. She was getting used to the strange things that frequently occurred in this place. She was more concerned with helping Mary get through to the exit. They continued traveling and eventually arrived at the door they had been struggling to unlock. They were now able to open it with ease.

All the while, Mary did not speak to Ib. She remained inaudible with her eyes to the floor. Ib still did not know what events had taken place earlier, but she still tried to cheer her little sister up by chatting. Mary did not respond to it that often.

The only thing Mary asked was "Ib… I didn't get any blood on you did I?"

Ib shook her head. "No… well… not that much. It only got on my cardigan. But it's red too, so it's okay. It will wash out."

Mary looked shamefaced. Ib continued, "It's really okay. It won't stain. I would be more worried about your dress. Its light green and it would be really hard to get a blood stain out. It really would be a shame if it got stained, it's so pretty."

Ib supported Mary for a long while. Even if she was feeling tired, she kept on walking. She could not give up now. Who knew where the exit could be? They had to find it soon or Mary's wounds would get worse. They could get infected. If they got infected, her little sister could get very sick. If she got sick, there would be no medicine available. And if there were no medicine available, Mary's sickness would progress. If her sickness progressed, her condition would only get worse and worse. If it got that bad, then Mary could… she would…

Ib shook her head. She should not be thinking of those things. She had to keep on thinking positive for her own sake, for Mary's sake. The _will _get out. Then they could celebrate with a pound of hard lemon candies and eat those brightly colored macaroons the girls loved so much.

Macaroons…Garry loved macaroons, too. Didn't he say the same thing? Yes, he did. He promised Ib that he would eat macaroons with her when they got out. But… he was not able to keep that promise.

A sudden stab of pain struck Ib's chest. She laughed at herself in her head. It was always so painful when she thought of Garry. But she could not stop now that she remembered him. She loved to think about how warm he was when he carried her. His hands were warm and soft, too. He was always so kind and gentle with her. She always thought he was it was so funny when he would get scared and scream his girly scream.

Ib now realized that many of the things she has done in her life are connected to him, even though she forgot about him. After she escaped from this chaotic world for the first time ten years ago, the first thing she asked her parents was if they could eat macaroons. She remembered how she took that first bite out of a blue macaroon and started to cry. When her parents asked what was wrong, Ib simply stated that it was because she loved them so much.

She also grasped that her sudden liking for hard lemon candy was due to that man. She remembered how angry she was when Mary took it out of her pocket and ate the one Garry had given her. Now, she ate so much of the stuff that she would sometimes get a stomachache. Maybe she wanted to experience what it was like to eat Garry's candy. Unfortunately, she never would.

Ib missed Garry so much. It hurt. It had hurt her every day since she visited the museum ten years ago and now she remembered why. Maybe she never really forgot Garry. Ib had found ways to remember him, even if her mind did not. She had only known Garry for a short amount of time, but it was enough for him to earn a place in her heart. The thought of him was what got her through her dark times. It was what got her through all those times of being sick, missing school, not fitting in, being constantly in and out of hospitals…

"Ib? You're crying." Mary said.

"Oh… yeah. I guess I am…" Ib replied blankly. She wiped her tears away with her free hand. Mary looked at her, concerned. Ib ignored that look.

"You know what? Let's rest here for a while. It looks like we need to solve some kind of puzzle to open this door, anyway." Ib said.

"Okay…" Mary agreed hesitantly.

Ib set her sister down in the corridor, in front of the door they stopped at. She then walked over to the door and inspected it. There were several statements written on the door. Ib read them aloud. "_In order to proceed, the following riddles must be answered. _

_I: Mom and Dad have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family? _

_II:_ _If your sock drawer has 6 black socks, 4 brown socks, 8 white socks, and 2 tan socks, how many socks would you have to pull out in the dark to be sure you had a matching pair?_

_III: If I say "Everything I tell you is a lie," am I telling you the truth or a lie?"_

The girls stayed silent and let what was read sink in. Then, Mary blurted out, "How the hell are we supposed to solve those? They're impossible!"

Ib's mind was already at work. "Let's focus on the first one. There are four daughters. Each one has a brother. How many are in the family…?" she trailed off.

Again, there was silence. "Oh I know! If four sisters and each one had a brother, then that would mean there are four brothers. So that means there are ten people in the family! You hear that you stupid door? Ten! There are ten family members!"

The door had three locks on it. None of them responded to Mary's answer. "Huh? Why isn't anything happening? That was right. I'm sure it was. I counted."

Ib had her eyes closed in deep concentration. She told Mary, "No, that's not quite right. Remember what it said? There are four daughters and each daughter has _one _brother. If each daughter had one brother that would mean… they all had the same brother. That means there was only one brother."

"So that would mean…"

"There are only five siblings in total. With the parents included, that makes a family of seven." Ib concluded. At Ib's words, they could hear the clicking sound of one of the locks on the door unlocking itself.

"Wow, you got it right." Mary said astonished. Ib smiled.

"Okay! On to the next one!" Ib said cheerfully. "Now for the sock riddle. 'If your sock drawer has six black socks, four brown socks, eight white socks, and two tan socks, how many socks would you have to pull out in the dark to be sure you had a matching pair?'"

"Uh…this one just confuses me."

"Hmmm… there are twenty socks in total. There are three pairs of black socks, two pairs of brown socks, four pairs of white socks, and one pair of tan socks. In all, there are ten pairs of socks."

"I'm completely lost."

"But does this riddle say that each sock must have a pair?"

"I don't know."

"I don't think so. It only states that I have to pull out enough socks until I get one matching pair. So how would I do that?"

"You're just thinking out loud and not really asking me, aren't you…?"

Ib stood as still as a statue. She concentrated on the riddle without moving an inch. She stood like this for several minutes. Then, a light bulb went off in her mind.

"Oh! I get it!" She exclaimed.

"What? What is it?" Mary asked excitedly.

"The riddle really has to do with the colors! There are four colors in the riddle, black, brown, white, and tan. If I pulled four socks out of a drawer, then there is a chance that I will get one of each color. The only way to guarantee that I get a matching pair is if I pull out an odd amount of socks, since there is an even amount of colors."

"So…"

"I must pull five socks out of the drawer."

The door made another sound of unlocking. Mary cheered her sister on. "Go Ib! You're on a role!"

"Last riddle!" Ib beamed. "'If I say "Everything I tell you is a lie," am I telling you the truth or a lie?'"

"Wait, Ib! Let me do this one, I know the answer!" Mary said eagerly.

"Okay, then. Go ahead."

"This one is easy. It's really so simple. If they state that everything they say is a lie, then the statement itself must be a lie! They are lying!"

The last lock made an audible unlocking sound. Ib felt proud of her sister. "Great job, Mary! That one was actually confusing me. Good thing you're here."

"You were overthinking it. What would you do without me, Ib?" Mary teased.

Ib helped her sister up and the two walked into through the door. What they saw amazed them. The room had green walls and was medium sized. What amazed the girls was what was on the walls. There were green leafy vines clinging to the ceiling and the walls. The vines held beautiful flowers of different varieties and even some thorns. It looked as if the plants were coming from a hanging painting. They were coming alive and growing right out of the frame.

What amazed the sisters even more was what was growing from the flowers. Upon closer inspection, they could see that small keys were growing in the middle of the flowers. Each key was a slightly different size, shape, and color.

"Wow…" was all Mary could say.

"It's so stunning." Ib whispered.

Ib let her sister lean against a wall while she walked across the room. She examined the miniature keys. When she got to the wall that held up the painting, she could see what looked like a door. Ib moved some vines away from wall to confirm what she saw. It really was a door.

"Mary! I found a door." Ib called.

"Really? Did you try opening it?" Her sister responded.

"No, not yet. Let me try…" Ib found the round knob and tried turning it. It was locked. She sighed. Of course. It's never just that easy.

"It's locked." She said, "I'm guessing that one of these keys must be the one that unlocks it."

Mary groaned. "This is going to take forever. Why can't this stupid place just be easy on us for once?"

Ib nodded her head in agreement. "If this place was always easy on us, then we would have escaped by now."

"I wish we can go home soon. I'm pretty sure we missed lunch."

Ib laughed. "Is that all you're worrying about? Then again, you're right. My phone is still working and it says that it's already five o' clock. I'm pretty sure we got stuck here around eleven thirty."

"Ugh. Well, on the bright side, look at this branch, Ib." She pointed to a thick, long branch that looked about ready to fall off the wall.

"Hey…that looks like it could be a great walking stick."

"Exactly. You think you can pull it off? I would do it myself but…"

"No problem."

Ib trotted over to the branch. It appeared easy enough to pull off. She grabbed hold of it and heaved with all her strength. It only moved a couple inches. She pulled again. Again, it only gave way a tiny bit. She pulled once more. She did not stop until she heard the branch cracking. It moved a great deal. She gave one last heave. It took a few moments for the branch to completely break off. Ib was thrown back by the force and crashed to the ground.

"Ah! Ib! Are you okay?" Mary cried.

"Uh…yes. Ouch. Yes, I'm alright. I just landed on my ass." She said.

Mary giggled. It was unusual for her sister to curse. "Okay, then. Looks like the stick broke off pretty well."

Ib handed her sister the branch. Mary tested it out. She walked around the room with it, using the stick to support her weight. It seemed to work well.

"This is awesome! Now I don't have to lean on you all the time!" Mary said.

Ib smiled at her sister. "What a relief. You were pretty heavy." She teased.

Her little sister walked around some more. "The only thing I'm worried about is looking like an old lady."

"Honestly? You're stuck in a crazy world where art pieces go out of their way to try to kill you and all you can think about your appearance?"

"Yup, sounds about right." Mary grinned.

The girls broke out into laughter. It felt good to laugh. It seemed like it had been ages since they had laughed like this, even though they had only been stuck in Guertena's World for a few hours. They felt such a relief. But it suddenly came to a halt when Mary shouted, "Ib! Behind you!"

Before Ib could begin to comprehend her sister's words, something caught her wrists, ankles, and waist. She was pulled up into the air and across the room. She beheld what was grabbing her. It was thick green vines. Ib struggled against the vines, but their grip was too strong. Another vine wrapped itself around her throat. Then she looked up at the ceiling. There was a message written there.

"Mary, look! On the ceiling!"

Her sister looked up. The message read, _"To leave this room, the key must be found. A bell marks how much time is left. For each time the bell tolls, the vines' grip will become tighter and tighter. Good luck." _

The girls read the message in disbelief. Suddenly, there was a sound of a bell. Ib felt the vines around her become tighter. _"This is going to be difficult to escape from."_ She thought.


	4. Chapter 4

"Mary! Quickly! Look for the key!" Ib yelled. Mary was snapped back to senses at Ib's voice.

"O-okay." She turned to the nearest flower and grabbed a small key. She moved to the door as fast as she could and tried the key. It didn't work. Mary grabbed another. No use. She grabbed another handful. Each one was useless.

The bell tolled again. The vines squeezed Ib even more. She swallowed. There was a time limit. She realized that she herself was that limit. Mary had until Ib was killed by the vines to find the correct key.

"You can do it, Mary! I believe in you!" Ib called.

"I'm surprised you can still be so optimistic." Mary said nervously. She had already ripped open dozens of flowers and tried the keys in vain. Ib could see her sister's paranoia increasing as each key failed to open the door.

The sound of the bell rang in the room. The vines became tighter. Ib was starting to really feel them around her neck. Mary looked at her sister to see how she was doing.

"It's okay, Mary. Stay calm. I'm fine. Just look for the key." Ib reassured her. Her sister nodded and continued searching. She ripped dozens more of flowers and tried them. She threw each one down in frustration when they failed to open the door.

The bell sounded yet again. The vines were starting to become uncomfortable, especially around Ib's throat. What would happen if Ib really was killed? Would the room still allow Mary to leave? The message never said that. It only said Mary has to find the key before time runs out. What if the key really isn't in here? What if her sister is stuck in this room forever?

Ib tried to banish that thought from her mind. She had to keep on believing in her little sister. She could see that Mary had already made a small pile of the tiny keys that did not work. Her sister's face was close to tears.

"Keep on going! We will get out of here! I promise!" Ib said.

The bell tolled. The vines constricted Ib even more. Mary glanced back anxiously.

"Ugh…I-it's okay. Keep looking." Ib managed. It was starting to get hard to breathe. Her wrists and ankles were beginning to hurt. It was too tight around her waist.

Mary frantically snatched up more flowers and tore them open. "Please, please…" She cried. "Oh, god… please…I have to find it…!"

With each key that did not work, Mary grew more frantic. It appeared as though she was now ignoring the pain in her foot when she walked rapidly.

The horrible sound of the bell rang again. Breathing was now a difficult task for Ib. Mary glanced at her for only a second and then cut of more flowers. She used her palette knife to cut off dozens at a time. None of the keys worked. She cried out in frustration.

"I…I-it's…okay, Mary. Keep…keep…going…" Ib said in a strained voice.

Tears were now leaking from Mary's eyes. She picked up her pace. But she had only cleared one wall of flowers. She still had three more walls to try. She moved on to the next wall and chopped off more of the horrid flowers.

As Mary was testing the fresh keys, the bell could be heard. Ib's airway was now completely blocked off. Her wrists, ankles and waist were screaming in pain. Mary could only watch as her older sister gasped for air.

**Mary**

In a vain attempt, Mary made her way towards Ib and tugged at the vines. She used every ounce of strength in her body. No matter how hard she pulled, the vines would not loosen their grip. She pulled once more and lost her grasp on the vines. Mary fell backward and hit her head. She saw stars.

While she was recovering, the bell made its terrible sound again. Mary could see the vines move around and squeeze her sister's throat even more. Ib was now unable to speak to her. Her older sister thrashed weakly against the vines.

Mary swiftly collected herself off the ground and shredded through more flowers. This key didn't work. Neither did this one. Nor did this one. Or this one. Why don't any of these keys work? Mary slashed more down.

As she was walking to the door, the bell tolled once more. Mary looked back to her sister. Her heart stopped. Ib was no longer moving. Her hands, which were balled into fists before, hand gone limp. Her face was white and her lips were blue. Her head also hung limp. Ib's entire body was still.

"No…" Mary whispered. "No…no…no, no, no, no, no."

She walked up to Ib's body. She touched her sister's hand. "Ib. Wake up. Open your eyes. Stop joking."

Ib did not respond. Mary continued. "Ib. Ib! Please…! Wake up! Please! This isn't funny. Stop it. Wake up, now! Please!"

Mary shook her sister. "Ib! Ib! Please! Don't do this to me! Open your eyes! Look at me! For the love of god, open your eyes! You can't just leave me here! I need you! I need my big sister! You promised that we would both get out together! Didn't you promise? You never break your promises! Why should you start now? Ib! Please!"

Tears were flowing endlessly down Mary's cheeks. She screamed at her sister, but she never answered. Mary desperately looked around the room. She ran to chop more keys down, but tripped.

Mary saw a key that looked different from the rest while on the floor. The key was bigger and more oddly shaped than the rest. It was underneath a tent of vines and leaves and in the center of many long thorns. Without hesitating, Mary stuck her hand into the thorns and ignored the pain. She grabbed the key and quickly stood up on her feet, with the help of her stick.

She marched over to the door. As she put the oddly shaped key into the keyhole, she thought, _"Please…oh god…please be the right one."_ She turned the key. It turned completely without stopping. Mary heard an unlocking sound.

Mary stopped breathing. She couldn't believe it. It worked. It actually worked. She quickly rotated her head to Ib's direction. The vines loosened around her sister. They released Ib and she fell to the ground in a heap. Mary ran over to her.

She rolled her sister over and examined her. Ib still was not moving. Mary patted her face. She leaned her head down to her sister's chest and face. She heard that Ib was not breathing, but her heart still beating, but just barely. _"What do I do?" _Mary thought.

She thought about what Ib would do in this situation. She could only think of one thing. Mary did not like the idea. But if it could save her sister…

Mary put her hands over Ib's heart and pushed down over and over. She then breathed into Ib's mouth. Mary had never given anyone CPR before. She did go to a CPR class that Ib convinced her into attending. But that was a long time ago. Mary was not sure if she was doing everything correctly. She was already getting tired.

Mary never felt so much relief in her life until Ib opened her mouth and gasped for air. She started coughing and Mary cried tears of joy.

"Ib! Can you hear me? You're going to be okay now, alright?" she exclaimed.

Ib opened her eyes and looked at her little sister. "I knew… you could… do it…" she said in a hoarse voice.

"It's going to be okay now! You're safe and awake!" Mary hugged her sister and sobbed.

Ib weakly returned the hug. Her little sister's tears dripped onto her face. Ib closed her eyes once again and appeared to be focusing on getting all of her lost air back. Mary was so relieved. She was so close to losing her big sister. She never wanted to go through that ever again.

"I know you want to rest, Ib, but can we please get out of here? I hate this room." Mary pleaded.

"…Okay…" Ib replied.

Ib got up with little help from Mary. The girls slowly walked out of the green room. Mary slammed the door shut and they both collapsed in the corridor. They were both busy catching their breath.

Mary and Ib sat for a long while. They seemed both content with not moving for a long time. Ib was the first to break the silence. "Mary…what happened? How did you get us out?"

Mary answered in a tired voice. "Oh… I tripped and then I found the right key…It was pretty well hidden. That stupid room was really trying to kill us."

"I passed out… I couldn't breathe… but I woke up. How did that happen? I thought… I was suffocating."

Mary averted her eyes. This was going to be embarrassing to explain. "Uh…um… even when the vines let you down, you still didn't wake up. Your heart was still beating, but just barely. So…I… um…" Mary's voice started shrinking. "Um… I…gave you…CPR…"

Ib froze in place, probably due to the shock. She slowly lifted her hand to her mouth. She started rubbing her mouth viciously, as if to rub off all of the "Mary germs". Ib looked pale, but it was probably not due to the suffocation. "…Th-thank you…Mary… thank you very much…" Ib did not say it enthusiastically.

"My pleasure…" Mary muttered sarcastically. "So… does that mean that was my first kiss?"

"No. Absolutely not. Never. If that was your first kiss, then it was my first kiss, too. I refuse to accept that."

"Ditto. I will never accept that my first kiss was one from my big sister. That is just disgusting. Ugh…I think I'm going to puke."

"You're telling me. I promise I won't accept it if you don't either."

"Agreed. And we never speak of this again?"

"Agreed. I am taking this to the grave."

"Well, now that that's settled…want to get going?"

"Wow. That's a first. Mary is actually the first one to suggest we keep moving?"

"I want to get as far away from that room as humanly possible. It brings up…mentally scarring images…"

Ib stood up quickly. "Good idea, best we get away from here as soon as possible."

The sisters got fast-walked their way from the room. They were both glad to get away from that stupid room.

Because of that green death trap, Mary would probably hate rooms with green walls for the rest of her life. Hell, she would hate plants with green vines, too. She made a mental note to ask her parents to repaint her bedroom when they got back. She couldn't wait till they got out of here.

She was probably going to have nightmares about this place for the rest of her life, too. When Mary was in Guertena's World before, everything seemed so pleasant. Nothing was trying to kill her then. All the paintings and sculptures were nice and listened to her. They never made fun of her. They never taunted her like that thoughtless jester painting.

Mary thought about the jester. It said some pretty awful things. But Mary didn't understand why those words hurt her so much. And what did it mean when it said 'remember why you are here'? Mary knew why she was here. She was a painting created by Guertena, her father, and was placed in this world with the rest of the artworks. There was nothing more to it than that.

But what the jester said made Mary think otherwise. Was there really some other meaning to the jester's words? Why else would it say those things? Remember. That's what the painting said. Mary was never one to take advice from a complete stranger, and a strange one at that, but this time she would make an exception.

Mary looked to her sister. She didn't want Ib to know what the painting had said, nor that she was about to actually consider the painting's words. She concentrated on her memories. Remember. She had to remember why she was here.

Mary thought back to those lonely days when she was all alone in Guertena's world. She would wander around aimlessly, sometimes stopping to chat with her big sis, the _Lady in Red_. Or she would play with those lovely blue dolls. But Mary often spent most of her time looking out through her picture frame and viewing the people passing by in the museum. How lonely those days were.

But Mary had to think back further. She had to think back further through those lonely years and back to when she first came to be, back when she was first placed in this world. She thought as hard as she could, but she couldn't remember. Mary couldn't remember when she first came here.

However, Mary did recall images of something else. The images were hazy, not easy to picture. But she could see herself walking through the world, scared and alone. She saw herself crying alone, until someone came to join her. She could not visualize that person's face, but she knew it was a girl. The girl looked a few years older than little Mary.

Mary remembered how she and the girl walked through the world together and she could see them laughing and smiling and playing and facing the art pieces together and the girl explained the art was not scary at all and they walked towards the end of the world and that they found and exit, but before Mary could climb out, the girl pushed her back in the world and laughed at her and crawled out of the world by herself and left Mary all alone again and then Mary started crying because she wanted to go home, she wanted to go back with Mama and Papa and-

Mary suddenly got an extremely painful headache. She pulled her hand to her head and wobbled on her own feet. She could barely hold herself up, her head hurt so much. She could hear Ib holding her, calling her name, and asking what was wrong, but Mary couldn't focus. Her head felt like it would split open. This pain was too much. Soon, everything went black.

When Mary came to, she was on the floor and Ib was leaning over her with a face full of concern. She could still feel her headache, but not as much as before. Ib opened her mouth and spoke. "Mary, what happened? Are you okay?"

Mary had to concentrate hard on the words in order to respond. "…I…I don't know…My head hurt… it hurt a lot… and then I couldn't think…I was thinking about something important, I know I was…but now I can't remember what it was…"

Ib put her hand on Mary's forehead. "You don't feel warm. And you only fainted for a few seconds. Does your head still hurt?"

"It's getting better now…"

"I don't know what could have gone wrong. Maybe it's just that this place is putting too much stress on you. You're probably exhausted, I know I am. How about we find a room to sleep in? My phone says it's already seven thirty in the real world anyway. I think resting a little early tonight will do us both some good."

Mary figured Ib was probably right and agreed. She got up on her feet with her older sister's help. She still felt a little shaky, but it was much better than before. In fact, her headache had now almost disappeared. She vaguely wondered what had caused the episode in the first place.

As the girls were about to proceed with their journey, they heard a smashing sound somewhere. They both nervously looked at each other.

"D-did you hear that?" Mary whispered.

"Yes… How about we get going before we find out what it was?" Ib suggested anxiously.

"Great idea…" Mary responded.

The sisters quickly started walking. Mary saw that Ib slowed herself down so that she could still be by her older sister's side, despite her injured foot. She tried to walk faster with her stick.

There was another crashing sound. This time it sounded closer. Both of the girls picked up their pace. There was yet another crashing noise, and it was closer than ever. Mary looked back. She couldn't see anything down the corridor, but she could hear the sound of something dragging itself on the floor. The noise was following them.

"I-Ib…" Mary started.

"I know. Do you think you can run?"

"I can sure as hell try. I am not letting that thing catch us."

"Alright, then. Make sure your rose is secure and grab my hand."

Mary checked her pocket for her rose. It was snug and not going anywhere. She reached for her sister's hand. "I'm ready."

"Okay. On your mark…get ready… set… go!"

The girls broke out into a sprint. Mary could already tell that this was going to be difficult. Each time her weight slammed down on her injured foot, it screamed in agonizing pain. It was enough to make involuntary tears stream down her cheeks. But Mary did not stop. She was determined not to let what was following them catch her.

Another crash was heard, and this time it came from right behind them. Mary looked back for a second and saw what it was. It was a _Lady in Blue_. She also saw that there were several more behind that one. This was bad.

Despite her pain, Mary tried to speed up. She ran faster, even faster than Ib. She looked to her older sister. Ib was already struggling to run. _"Oh, no."_ Mary thought. _"Ib can't run like this for much longer, not in her condition. We need to lose these paintings, and fast, before Ib reaches her limit."_

Mary was now the one leading. She pulled her exhausted big sister around a corner. Then around another one. And another one. And another. She was trying to shake the paintings off their tail, but as soon as it appeared that they lost them, they just appeared around the corner again. Why couldn't these things just leave them alone?

Mary saw that Ib's legs were giving out. She looked like she was also in pain. Her big sister didn't have much time left. "It's okay, Ib!" Mary shouted. "We're almost losing them. Just a little more!"

Mary made a sudden sharp turn. She looked back at the paintings. They weren't expecting it, and most of them slammed into a wall. Mary laughed as she made more turns around the corridors. It looked like they were finally losing the things. They could rest soon and find a room and then-

Ib tripped over something on the ground and collapsed. Mary was sent flying by the recoil and landed several feet away from her sister. It took her a while to get up, because the wind was knocked out of her. She lifted her head and saw Ib crawling away from her and towards something. It was her red rose. She must have dropped it.

Mary tried to regain her breath as Ib weakly reached for her rose. Then, the ground started shaking beneath them. _"Oh, what is it now?"_ Mary thought. From the floor, green vines sprouted and grew up to the ceiling. This seemed all too familiar. Mary grabbed a vine and tried to tear it down. It wouldn't budge. It was as hard as stone.

"No…" Mary said, "No, no, no, no!"

This couldn't be true. This shouldn't be happening. How could this happen? Why? Of all the times, why now?

Mary looked at her sister and could tell she was thinking the same thing. They were separated by these terrible stone vines. Nothing could break them.

"I…I'll…look for a way around." Ib said feebly.

"No…Ib…" Mary pleaded.

"It's the only way…I'll…find you again…I promise…" Ib stated.

Before Mary could say anything else, Ib weakly picked herself up and began to run away. She ran with all she could, even though Mary knew she was already exhausted. And just moments after she left, the paintings appeared again and began to follow her.

Mary exploded in anger. "Stop! Stop following her! Leave her alone! Can't you see she's too weak to go on? Leave my sister alone already!"

The paintings merely glanced across the stone vines at Mary for a few short instances. Knowing that it was no use to go after her anymore, they simply turned the other way and ignored her. They knew Ib would be must easier to catch.


	5. Chapter 5

It hurt. It hurt all over. Ib's chest was a huge ball of pain. Her legs ached from running so much. Her feet felt pain each time they touched the ground. Every breath she took in hurt so much. She felt like she was going to vomit out everything that was inside her body.

But Ib couldn't stop. Those paintings were still following her. She had to carry on and endure. Or at least until she found a safe room. But there were no rooms in sight.

Ib looked behind her. The paintings did not seem to be tired at all. At this rate, they were going to catch her. She had to think of something to do, and fast.

She got an idea when she looked ahead and saw that the corridor was divided into three other passageways. There was a passage right up ahead and two leading right and left. Ib considered the risks of the plan and decided it was worth it if she could lose the paintings. Even if she didn't try, they would probably end up catching her anyway.

Ib darted into the right corridor. She pulled a pocket mirror out from her satchel and threw it into the left corridor. She then pushed herself as close as she could against the wall in a dark spot and tried to blend into the shadows. She hoped she would not be spotted easily even though she had a bright red cardigan on over a white shirt.

She waited and tried to slow her breathing. She had to be as quiet as possible. Ib heard the paintings dragging themselves into the corridor and stopping to think about which passage to take. She hoped they would take the bait. Ib held her breath.

The paintings took the left corridor. They had spotted the reflective glass with Ib's signature on the back. They rapidly dragged themselves away and around a corner, out of sight. Ib did not hesitate to run down the right passageway as soon as they were gone.

She ran as far away as her weak legs could take her. It hurt to run more than ever. She didn't know how much more she could take of this. Ib's legs finally gave out and she buckled. No matter how hard she tried, she could not lift herself off the floor. She glanced up and saw what she had been looking for up ahead. It was a door.

Hopefully it was a room. She wanted a nice, safe room to rest in. She didn't care if it was a trap at this point. Anything was better than running again. Ib used the last of her energy supplies to pull herself up and crawl slowly to the door. Her entire body protested and it was a struggle to even lift her arm to the doorknob.

Ib turned it. Thankfully, it wasn't locked. She dragged her body into the room, closed the door, and sat in front of it. She no longer had the energy to move. Ib was struggling to breathe and her chest screamed in pain. Even now that she stopped moving, it hurt too much to breathe. She fell over and lied down on the floor. This pain was too much. It hurt too much to keep on breathing.

Ib vaguely wondered if she was going to die. She was not supposed to be running. She had never run like that in all her life. Or at least not since the first time she was in Guertena's World. She ran with Garry last time. _"If I die here…will I see Garry again…? That would be nice…"_ Ib thought.

She could feel her heart giving out. If Ib was in the real world, then her father would have called an ambulance by now. Her mother and Mary would be comforting her until the ambulance arrived. She would be carried into the ambulance and driven to the hospital again. They would give her some special medicine and wait for her condition to stabilize. She would probably be kept for a few hours, or stay overnight. Either way, she was used to the routine.

But this wasn't the real world and her family was not here. She had not brought any medicine with her, because her mother was carrying it. Ib was all alone with no help in sight. Her weak heart would give out and she would die, all alone. Her worst fear was coming true. She was always scared this would happen. And now it finally was. She never thought she would die in so much pain. Silent tears spilled from her eyes. Ib closed her eyes and waited for everything to end.

**Mary**

Mary sat for a while, simmering in her own anger. Those paintings didn't listen to her. They took advantage of the fact that she was on one side of the vines, unreachable, and Ib was still on the side where they could chase her. They were going to catch her sister and there was nothing she could do about it.

Angry tears dripped down her cheeks. She viciously wiped them away and got up. Mary had to find Ib. Her sister promised they would meet up again. Ib never broke her promises. And if those things did have her sister, then Mary would just chop them down, one by one, with her palette knife.

She firmly grasped her walking stick and marched down the corridor. This stupid world would not keep them apart for long. Mary looked back at the stone vines once more. Ten years ago, she appreciated them because they made it so that Ib and her were alone together and away from that meddlesome Garry. But now she hated them for separating her from her precious sister.

Mary walked on and worried about her sister. Ib's condition was not the best. She knew all that running was going to eventually take a toll on her sister's weak heart. What if Ib was going to need her medicine? Mary wondered if her sister was carrying any in that trusty satchel of hers. What if she forgot it? What would her sister do then? Ib would be all alone with no help.

Mary's concern grew with each step she took. She began to walk faster. She tried not to think about it. She _would_ find her sister, safe and sound. Ib promised. And Mary's big sister never breaks her promises.

**Ib**

Ib waited and waited. She waited for ten minutes. Then she waited for twenty. Still, her life wasn't ending. She opened her eyes. Why had she not died yet? The only thing that had happened was that she was now feeling better.

She sat up. She was still feeling a little groggy, but much, much better. At least she was able to actually sit normally without getting tired. She thought of something. Ib pulled out her rose. When she was nine years old, her rose only had five petals. When she entered the world again earlier today, she started with ten petals. Now she had six left.

Had she been in the real world, she would have died by now. Her heart should have failed when she was suffocated back in the green room. It should not have been able to take all that running and still survive. Ib knew that all too well. And yet, she was still here. Could it be that this rose was what saved her? She knew that if the rose lost its petals, she would be injured. If it became completely bare, she would die. Garry proved that to be true. But could the rose work the opposite way? Could it be that no matter what Ib did, as long as her rose was intact, she would not die? That was the only explanation as to why she was still alive.

This rose was both a curse and a blessing. This "system of the roses" killed Garry, but it had allowed Ib's weak heart to survive. She thanked her rose for at least keeping her alive and well.

After having discovered this new, interesting fact, Ib turned her attention to the room she was in. From what Ib could see as she sat on the floor, it appeared to be slightly bigger than her own bedroom back home. The walls were bare and the only pieces of furniture she could see were two bookcases on either sides of the room and a medium sized couch in the center.

Ib gradually stood up on her feet. She didn't want to make herself dizzy from standing up too fast. The first thing she saw when she was standing was the painting hanging on the opposite wall. She felt a stab of pain in her heart, but it was not from anything that hurt her physically. No, this feeling was entirely emotional. Ib read the title of the painting. _Forgotten Portrait. _

It was Garry. Or at least a painting of Garry. Ib stood for a while, not moving. She simply stared at the beautiful painting. She thought that Garry had a beautiful sleeping face. She thought that everything about him was beautiful.

Finally, she began to move her feet. Ib made sure to step silently towards the painting, acting as though she would wake him if she walked up to him noisily. She got closer to her Garry. Sometimes she liked to think it was like that. She liked to think he was _hers_. _Her_ Garry. She knew it wasn't true, but she liked the way it sounded.

Ib stood in front of the Garry, or rather, the portrait of Garry. Now she could see every detail of his beautiful face. Even when she was a little kid, Ib enjoyed staring at him and admiring. She laughed to herself. It probably made him uncomfortable to be constantly stared at by a little kid. Even now she couldn't help herself.

Ib spoke to Garry. "Hi, Garry. How are you doing? I'm doing well… when my heart condition isn't bothering me. You're twenty years old, right? I'm nineteen now. I'm just one year younger than you! Those ten years since I last saw you flew right by. It's strange isn't it? I can still remember walking with you and holding your hand like it was just yesterday. Don't you agree?"

Ib waited and then remembered that Garry can no longer answer. She felt the blow of the realization strike her heart. "W-well… anyway, I can read everything on my own now. I know more words than ever. You don't have to help me anymore. But you can if you want. Maybe I could help you read some words. Wouldn't that be great?"

Again, the cruel silence hit her. She tried not to get upset. "I'm…I'm in college now… I try not to let my sickness get in the way. I got very good grades last semester. They were almost all A's. Mother and Father were so proud. I wonder if you went to college. You were at the gallery that day. You seemed interested in the art. If you went to college, was that what you studied? Did you study art?"

How many times was Ib going to do this before she remembered that Garry could not answer? Tears were threatening to fall. "Garry… please… answer… I want to hear your answer. I want to talk to you. I want to have conversations with you over some tea and macaroons…you loved macaroons. The way you talked about them before made me think so… I…I want to know more about you… please…answer me…"

Salty water was already gushing from Ib's eyes. Garry would never answer. She would never hear his voice again. When Ib thought she was dying on the floor, she actually found some happiness in the thought that she would see him again through all of her fear. She held up her red rose to Garry's painted blue one. These roses were both a blessing and a curse.

Ib dropped her rose. She placed her fingertips on Garry's painted face. She would never touch the real Garry again. Ib wondered what would have happened if she chose to stay by Garry's side ten years ago. Would she have become a painting like him? Would they have been able to share the frame together, forever? That would have been wonderful.

As Ib was thinking this, there was a flash of light. It reminded her of the light that had flashed at the exit ten years ago. _"Is…is this the exit?" _Ib thought.

When the light disappeared, the frame from the painting was gone. But unlike the exit she used the first time, the picture did not display the real world. Instead, it still displayed the painting of Garry.

Ib examined it. She unhurriedly raised her hand up to the painting once again. She touched the portrait. It was almost as if she was touching the surface of water. Ib hesitated, but then put her hand inside the painting. She could touch the roses in the painting. She felt them and pulled out a petal. She took the petal right out of the painting. She stared at it. It turned into a real rose petal. Or rather, it turned into a rose petal that was similar to the ones on Mary's fake rose ten years ago.

Either way, it became tangible. Ib looked at Garry. _"If this became real…then maybe he could also…"_ Ib was already reaching into the painting before she even finished the thought. She grabbed Garry's hands. She pulled him as hard as she could. His hands came out of the painting with hers. _"I-it's working!" _Ib shouted in her mind.

She took a few steps back and heaved even more. His arms came out, and then his head. Ib smiled. "Hello again!" She said cheerfully. Garry's eyes were still closed in slumber. Ib did not mind his silence. He was becoming real again, and that was all that mattered for now.

She pulled more and when his torso appeared, Ib hugged him close to her in order to get a better grip on him. There was just a little more to go. She pulled and his waist escaped the painting. Ib noticed that he was starting to get too heavy for her. She tried to keep her balance, but soon failed. Her knees buckled under his weight. The rest of Garry's body fell out of the painting and landed on top of Ib.

Ib's first thought was that she never knew Garry was so heavy. Well, he is a man after all. And all of this man's weight was on top of her. Ib tried to push him off of her at least a little, but she wasn't strong enough. There was nothing she could do, but lie on the carpet floor with Garry on top of her.

Ib blushed. His face was really close to hers. She could now see all of his facial features closer than ever before. In fact, Garry was so close that Ib could feel his gentle breath hit her face. Her face became hotter in return.

Despite all this, Ib did not mind. She was just happy to finally have him back after all these years. Ib pulled him close and hugged him with all her might. Her Garry was back. He was finally with her and she would never let him go ever again. With this thought in her mind, Ib's exhaustion caught up with her. She fell asleep with Garry's warmth comforting her.

**Garry**

Garry could hear her calling his name. She wanted him to get up. He tried, but he couldn't. He told Ib her would catch up with her soon. That was a lie. He knew what was happening. But he didn't want that little girl to see.

He heard her tiny footsteps get farther away. He really liked that little girl. She was fun to talk to and made this whole horrible experience better. He would not have made it this far if it wasn't for her. So, he was glad to give his life to protect her. Everything went black as he thought of the little girl with the red eyes.

Darkness. That was all Garry could see for a long time. Everywhere, there was darkness. How long had it been since he had seen the light? It was too long ago to remember.

His memories were also fading into the darkness. How did he get here? Why was he here? Had he always been in this place? Was there a way out?

Suddenly, a flash of light cut straight through the darkness. Then, his hands were touching something warm. It felt nice. It had always been cold where he was. Something pulled his hands and he felt cool air. It pulled more and his arms felt the air. When his head was released from the darkness, the light danced on his closed eyelids. He heard a voice. It said, "Hello again!" That voice sounded familiar. He wanted to open his eyes and see who it was, but he couldn't find the muscles to lift his eyelids.

Then, he felt warmth over his torso. It felt so nice to feel warmth again. Garry wanted to reach out and grab more of the warmth, but he couldn't find the muscles to do it. He was motionless as the rest of his body left that cold, dark place and entered a pleasant, warm place.

The warmth stayed with him while he remembered how to work each of his limbs again. The last thing he was able to control was his eyelids. It took a while, but he managed to open them. The wonderful light filled his eyes for the first time in a long time. He wondered how exactly long it had been.

The first thing Garry saw was a pair of beautiful lips. They were full, red, and perfect. He lifted his face farther away and saw the rest of the face. He was surprised. It was a young lady and she had the most beautiful face he had ever seen in his entire life. That was when he came back to his senses.

Garry screamed in surprise and quickly lifted himself up. Who was this young lady? Why was she just sleeping there? And more importantly, why was he on top of her? He blushed. It wasn't what it looked like! He didn't even know how he had gotten on top of her in the first place! How was he going to explain this?

Huh? Who was he going to explain this to, anyway? There is no one around except that lady. Should there be someone else here? He felt like there should be. Who was it…?

Garry suddenly remembered. He frantically looked around the room. Where was his young companion? Where was Ib? She was nowhere to be found.

Garry grew anxious with worry. He thought about the last time he had seen her. He was… dying. And she went on ahead. That was the last time he saw the little girl before everything became dark.

What happened after that? Did she face Mary again? Did she go home? Garry hoped that was the case. He wouldn't want to have anything to harm her. Still, Garry felt that he should look for her.

Garry then looked at the young lady on the floor. He thought that she looked vaguely familiar. She had short bangs that hung in a straight line just below her brows. Her shiny brown hair appeared to flow all the way down to her waist. Part of the hair on her head was pinned to one side with a charming, shiny pin. She had a long red cardigan on over a white camisole top. The lady wore a short denim skirt. She had on solid black tights that complimented her slender legs and wore fashionable short, black boots. All in all, Garry thought that she was very well dressed.

Thinking that it must be uncomfortable to sleep on the floor, Garry picked up the lady and placed her on the couch. As he was putting his coat over her, she began to open her eyes. She had a bold eye color. Her eyes were bright red, just like Ib's eyes. Garry wondered if it was a coincidence.

The young lady's eyes shifted around for a few seconds before focusing on Garry. When they did, they widened. They began to tear up. A smile spread across her beautiful lips. "Garry!" her lovely voice said. She then wrapped her arms around him and would not let go.

Garry blushed slightly and was confused. Why was this lady hugging him? Did he know her? He was sure this was the first time he had ever seen this person. But something about her made him think otherwise. The lady spoke again. "Garry…I'm so glad. I'm so glad I could see you again."

Garry awkwardly patted her back. "Um…me… too…?"

The lady released him from her tight embrace. She looked at him funny. Then there was a look of realization. And after that, a look of embarrassment. She blushed. Garry thought she looked kind of cute.

To relieve some of the awkward tension, Garry said "So…um… are you also from the gallery?"

The lady nodded. She kept on staring at him. He remembered that Ib would do the same thing. Garry asked another question. "Before we continue this, I just have to ask you something. Sorry if it seems strange, but… are you a real person or a painting that came to life?" He was definitely not going to have a repeat of the Mary situation.

The lady giggled. "I'm a real person." She said. "I have proof, too. Do you want to see my rose?"

Before Garry answered, the lady was already walking over to it in order to pick it up from the floor. She held it up to his face. Garry gently took it in his hand. He inspected it. She was telling the truth. It was real.

Her rose reminded Garry of another person who also had a red rose. "Thanks. Anyway, have you seen a little girl wandering around here? She's nine years old and she's this tall." He held up his hand in the air to what he believed was Ib's height. "Do you know if she got home safely?"

The lady smiled. "Yes. She went home safely."

Garry was relieved. "That's such a relief. I'm glad she went back."

She continued. "But… she came back to this world again."

"What? Why?"

"She was trapped in here again. And she was looking for you."

"That's horrible! Why aren't you with her? Did you get separated? We have to find her! Will you help me look for her? She shouldn't be alone!"

"There's no need for that."

"How could you say that? A little girl shouldn't be alone in this place!"

"Garry. There is no need for that because… she is right here."

Garry stopped short. "What…what do you mean? I don't see her in this room."

"She's right in front of you, Garry. You're talking to her."

"Huh…? I don't…"

The lady breathed out and then slowly spoke. "Garry, it's me. I'm Ib."

Garry was speechless. He didn't know what to say.

The lady beamed again with her brilliant red eyes and said, "Hello again!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was busy with summer vacation! And I also had a bit of writers block…But have no fear! I am cured…for now at least (lol). You can expect more chapters to come! I had fun writing about Ib and Garry, so I hope you have fun reading about them! Enjoy! **

It felt like she was still in a dream when she woke up to the sight of Garry's face. In fact, she did think she was dreaming when she pulled him into an embrace. That was why she was so puzzled when he responded awkwardly. Ib had only dreamed of him once before and in that dream he had returned her hug. She soon realized that this was very real and her cheeks became hot.

Garry was so kind. He didn't make fun of her for doing something strange. Instead, he just went on and ignored it, even though he was clearly embarrassed by it. And after he made sure Ib was not a painting, he started worrying about her, or rather, her nine year old self. It made her so happy to know that he still cared about her.

But it was going to be difficult to explain the little girl he was looking for grew up. That would also mean that she had to explain that he really did die. And that he had been stuck in this place for ten years. And she did not even want to get started with explaining the situation with Mary.

Ib breathed out and then slowly spoke. "Garry, it's me. I'm Ib."

Garry seemed to be frozen in shock. Ib did not know what to say next, so she just smiled and repeated, "Hello again!"

He was still not moving. Ib tried to tell him as lightheartedly as possible, but it seems the news was just too heavy. She supposed the news would be too shocking for anyone. She wanted to comfort him, but didn't know how. Without thinking, she reached out and patted his cheek.

That seemed to snap him out of his trance. Ib realized what she was doing and tried to take it away from his face. Unexpectedly, Garry held her hand in place. He closed his eyes and appeared to be focusing on something. He then said, "This hand feels so…nostalgic."

Ib waited in silence. She didn't know what he would do next. He opened his eyes after some time and looked at her. She simply stared back. "You have the same red eyes." He said. "You have the same long, brown hair and the same cute bangs. Your face exactly the same since the last time I saw it, except it aged a bit and got thinner. But… other than that… you didn't change at all. You're the same little girl from a while ago."

"S-so… you believe me?" Ib asked.

"Yes… but… how long exactly has it been…?"

"Ten years. Garry…you … died in this world ten years ago…"

"…Whoa…" Garry let it sink in. He ran his hand through his hair. "Ten years… for you it's been that long. But for me it was only a little while ago that I saw you when you were nine."

"I'm sorry…"

"Huh? For what?"

"For leaving you here. For only thinking of myself and escaping by myself."

"There's no need to apologize. You did the right thing. You were too young for your life to end here."

"So were you."

"But you had a family waiting for you in the real world… I… don't."

"But… I was waiting for you. I always missed you, Garry…" A couple of teardrops escaped from Ib's eyes.

Garry blushed slightly. "Oh… well… can I make up for it by coming back with you this time?"

Ib smiled and wiped her eyes. "Yes. And we can finally eat macaroons together when we get back."

"Really? I can't wait! We should get red and blue ones!"

"And yellow ones, too!"

"Speaking of yellow… What happened to Mary?"

Ib flinched. She was dreading to have to explain about Mary. She might as well get it over with. "Um… Mary is still alive…" she started.

"Oh. We should avoid her, then. Who knows what she could do? She could still hurt you."

"N-no, Garry. We can't avoid her because…she's… my sister now…"

"…What…?"

"Well… Mary… She's grown up too. She's seventeen years old now."

"But she's a painting. I don't understand…"

"Mary has been living in the real world. She's not just a painting anymore. She's real now."

"But… how?"

"After you… were gone…I left this world without seeing Mary again. She must have left, too and took your place. Long story, short, she twisted reality so that she could become my little sister in the real world."

"Where is Mary right now?"

"At the moment, I don't know. We got pulled in this world together and were recently separated. I need to find her quickly. She's injured."

"But Mary is crazy and dangerous. There's no telling what she could do."

"Mary isn't like that anymore. If she wanted to hurt me, she would have by now. I grew up with her and survived with her here. In fact, she's saved me plenty of times. She isn't a bad person."

Garry considered Ib's words. "If you say that…then… I'll trust you. There is no reason for me to doubt you."

"Thank you. And Garry… can you promise not to hurt my little sister?"

"I wasn't planning to, but alright. I won't touch her."

"Sorry, I just had to make sure."

"I see. You seem to care a lot about her, considering she tried to kill us. Actually, she did kill one of us."

Ib grew worried. Garry seemed to harbor some resentment against her sister. She shouldn't be surprised. Mary did in fact kill Garry. Anyone would be angry about that. She was concerned about how the two would react when they met.

"U-um…yes, yes I do. She's my little sister. We grew up together."

"But she stole my life to do that. She's a painting."

"Garry…I thought you understood. Mary is just as real as you and me now."

"Can you really say that her existence is real even though she stole it from someone else? Last time I checked, when someone steals from another it's not really theirs to call their own. It's fake."

"Garry, please. Mary is real. Even if she started as a painting or…or t-took your life, she is a genuine human being."

"You can say that, Ib, but to me, she isn't real. She is just a dangerous, insane painting that could still hurt you. I don't want to risk that."

"So what are you going to do, Garry? Are you going to leave her behind in here? Because I won't. I will never do that."

"Ib…if it come to being between you or her-"

"No! It won't come to that! If it does, you can just escape on your own. I'll just find another exit with Mary!"

Garry looked surprised at Ib's response. She realized what she said. But she still stood by her words. As Ib sat on the couch with Garry crouching down in front of her, her heart grew heavy. She did not want to argue with Garry. She did not expect the conversation to take a turn for the worse. She assumed that if she simply explained the situation as gently as possible, he would understand. She did not think it would be so complicated. She was naïve to think it would be so easy to make him understand. And on top of all of this, Ib was acting childish with the way she was responding to him. With the way she was acting, maybe Garry would reconsider accepting that she was the little girl he was looking for, too. What would she do then?

The two were still for a while, both not speaking and thinking quietly. Finally, Ib whispered, "I thought you trusted me…"

Garry looked up at Ib. She did not meet his gaze. He spoke softly. "I do trust you…It's just that…I don't trust _her_."

"If you truly trust me…then trust me when I say that you can trust her."

Garry was silent. It took him a while to respond. "I…I'll…Fine. I'll try my best. But only for you."

Ib only felt some of the tension go away. She hoped she would not go back on his word again. "Thank you. I want us all to get along."

The two paused for a few more moments and then Ib said, "Why don't we get going? We need to find Mary and the exit quickly."

Garry slowly stood up. He agreed and pulled Ib off the couch. He did it so naturally, as if it was something he did on a daily basis. Ib would have blushed, but she was still worried. He was still silent. He was even evading her usual stare. She was afraid he was angry with her.

Ib noticed something in a dark corner of the room. It was a light blue vase that stood on top of a simple wooden stand. Without saying anything, she strolled over to it and placed her rose in the water. It instantly looked healthy again. The water disappeared.

She turned around to see Garry staring at her. "I just noticed there was a vase. My rose only had six petals left. Now that it's healed, I'm feeling much better." She was trying to start a conversation up again.

Thankfully, Garry answered her sincerely. "It had six petals? How many petals do you have now?"

"I have ten. That's what I started with when I first got here. You have ten, too, don't you?"

"Yes. But it sounds like you sustained some heavy damage. What were you doing that could cause you to lose almost half your petals?"

Ib was reluctant to answer. "Well…um…I was nearly suffocated by vines that came from a painting and hunted down by other ones…And now that you mention it… I wonder if they're still outside…" She looked concerned.

"Paintings were chasing you?"

"Yes. Multiple versions of the _Lady in Red_, _Lady in Blue_, and the _Lady in Green _were chasing me earlier. That's how I found this room. I was trying to escape."

Ib was still afraid to go outside. She was trembling slightly. Garry appeared to have seen this and exclaimed, "It's alright now. You're not alone anymore. I'll go check if the coast is clear."

Ib saw that Garry had also started shaking a bit when she mentioned the paintings. It made her fell a little better to know that he was looking outside even though he was frightened himself.

She watched as Garry opened the door slightly. He peered through the crack for a few moments and then opened the door more. I stuck his whole head out. He then walked out all the way and looked down the hallways. Garry walked back into the room.

"Okay, Ib. It's clear." He said.

Ib nodded and collected her belongings. She handed Garry his coat. He put it on and waited for Ib to finish checking to see if she forgot something.

As they walked out the door, Garry suddenly grabbed Ib's hand and walked by her side. Ib looked at her hand in his and then at Garry. He did the same. He looked as though he comprehended what he was doing and became flustered. Ib duplicated his actions. They broke their hands apart and swiftly took several steps away from each other.

Ib held the hand that was linked to Garry's only seconds ago. Her entire face was burning in embarrassment. She even felt the tips of her ears become warm. She glanced at Garry. Their eyes met and both hurriedly looked away. This made her blush even harder.

She felt mostly embarrassed not because he had grabbed her hand so naturally, although that was enough to fluster her. What really caused her to burn up was the fact that when he held her hand, she instinctively clung onto it and squeezed it. She also made sure to match her steps to his, so that she was able to stay by his side. It was what they had done many times when she was a child.

They glanced at each other again. This time Ib didn't look away. "I'm sorry." She began.

"A-ah! U-um…No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to grab you like that. I guess… it's an old habit. That was our routine before, wasn't it?"

"Yes. I remember."

"I suppose you're too old for that now. It has been ten years. You're nineteen now, right?"

"Yes. I'm only one year younger than you!"

"You're a young lady now. I shouldn't treat you like a child. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I was used to the routine, too. There is no need to apologize. We both have a habit to break."

There was an awkward pause until Garry suggested they keep moving. Ib gave him a shy smile and agreed. They made sure to keep their distance this time. Ib was slightly disappointed by this. She almost wanted them to keep holding hands and walking side by side. But Garry did not seem to want to. She did not want to trouble him by making a childish request.

After some time, the tension between them became relaxed. They were able to speak easily to each other and have lovely conversations. Ib was getting what she always wanted: to speak with Garry and learn more about him. She learned that he was more interested in fashion than art, although he did enjoy both. She learned that he was in the art gallery that fateful day because of a school assignment. Garry had been attending a college that specialized in fashion and he had to design an outfit based on one of Guertena's works.

"I guess you could say it wasn't exactly my lucky day. But I did get lucky when I met you. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." He supposed.

"I'm the same. If it wasn't for you, Garry, I would not be walking here."

Garry smiled. "We both helped each other out. To thank you, I'm going to design an outfit for you."

"Really?" Ib was excited by the thought.

"Of course! I was planning on making you something when you were nine, but this is even better. I noticed earlier that you looked easy to work with. Is it alright if I examine you further?"

"O-okay."

Ib stood still as Garry walked around her in circles, examining her body. Occasionally, he would lift her arm up and appeared to be guessing her measurements. As he silently worked, sometimes mumbling to himself, Ib thought of his words. He had said that he noticed she looked easy to work with. Did that mean Garry was looking at her figure this whole time? Her heart fluttered. _"It's not like that!" _Ib tried to convince herself. _"Garry is into fashion and clothes. It's probably natural for him to look at someone and think about their measurements and what clothes they would wear. Stop being delusional!"_

Ib felt her face rising in temperature once again. She blushed for the silliest things. She lifted her hands and slapped both her cheeks. Garry finally looked at her face and gave her a funny look. Ib gave a forced smile and stated, "We have to hurry and find Mary." She walked ahead.

"Okay…" Garry followed her. He stayed quiet. He was probably still thinking about how she acted strange. Ib wished she could act like a normal person in front of him for once. She then heard a chuckle. She looked up at Garry. He was trying to contain laughter.

Ib was confused. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing, really. I just remembered that you were a little strange when you were nine, too."

"Oh…"

"Think of that as a compliment. It means you're not dull at all. You're fun to be around, Ib." He said between chuckles.

Ib was surprised. No one had said that to her before. No one besides Mary, that is. No one who didn't love her unconditionally had said that to her before. It made Ib extremely happy.

"No one's ever said that to me." She said softly.

It was Garry's turn to look surprised. "Really? Don't your friends ever tell you that?"

Ib shifted her gaze. "Well…I don't really have many friends…" Her voice was becoming even softer.

"What? That can't be true! I could imagine you surrounded by a whole swarm of friends."

"You could say…I have trouble fitting in…"

"How so?"

"I…um…I don't communicate with others well…"

"You're talking to me just fine."

"I wonder about that. I suppose you're an exception." Ib smiled as she said this.

Garry reddened slightly. "I'm glad you can talk to me. But I'm still confused why other people don't just try and talk to you first."

"I'm absent from school frequently."

"Why?"

Ib hesitated. She didn't want Garry to worry. She tried to change the subject. "So, um… Garry, don't you want to know what happened during the last ten years?"

He was thrown off a bit by Ib's sudden change in the conversation. But he kindly let the topic drop. "Yeah, I guess I do. What's changed so far?"

Ib told him every important detail, all the way from 2003 to 2013. She loved looking at how his face lit up whenever she told him how much things have changed. She was mostly glad to have changed the subject.

Mary was probably worrying about Ib at this moment. She knew that Ib had a weak heart and that she needed her medicine. Ib didn't want Garry to worry about her health like her sister. She kept her condition to herself, and did not even complain when her chest hurt. She wanted to continue talking with Garry.


	7. Chapter 7

"Can we rest a bit?" Ib asked, exhausted. She had barely any sleep in the room where she found Garry and now they were trying to run away from walking sculptures. All these constant life threatening situations were taking a heavy toll on Ib. They had finally lost the sculptures, but she wondered how much more of this she could take.

"Sure. Do you want to borrow my-" Ib collapsed in the hallway and sat with her back against the wall as Garry was speaking. It was getting difficult to breathe again. Her chest was in pain. At least the pain was not as severe as before.

Garry quickly kneeled down next to Ib. "A-are you alright? What's wrong, Ib?" He asked anxiously.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired. I'll be better as soon as I catch my breath." Ib was clutching her chest and working on breathing. She did not want Garry to worry. She did not want to be a burden. She had to get up as soon as possible.

"Are you sure? You look exhausted. We could find a room to rest in." Garry suggested, concerned.

"No. We have to find Mary. She is in a worse condition than I am."

"What exactly _is _your condition, Ib?"

Ib did not want to answer. She rapidly stood up. "We have to keep moving." She stated.

She must have stood up too quickly, because Ib's head swam and her legs began to buckle. Garry caught her before she fell. "You don't look well." He said.

Garry scooped Ib up. He held her secure in his arms. Ib's cheeks flushed. "G-Garry?"

"You don't want to stop, but you need to rest. I'll carry you. It's a good compromise."

"B-but…Am I too heavy? Won't get tired?"

"Actually, you're pretty light. When you feel better, I'll let you walk on your own. Does that sound alright?"

"O-okay."

Garry smiled and began walking with Ib in his arms. He seemed relaxed about this whole compromise. Ib, however, was feeling fidgety. She was both happy and nervous at the same time. She tried to be at ease like Garry, but her heart fluttered with each step he took.

How was she supposed to focus on breathing normally with her constantly skipping beats? Ib tried to not think about how warm he was. She definitely tried to avoid the temptation of staring up at his face. That would make him uncomfortable.

Eventually, Ib closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of being carried. She had experienced it before when her father carried her. But with Garry, it was different. Her heart never acted up with her father. Or at least not in this way. Usually when her father carried her, she was suffering from chest pain caused by her heart condition. When Ib's heart throbbed this time, it was not the same feeling. She almost liked this throbbing. It felt kind of nice. She enjoyed being carried by Garry. She smiled faintly to herself. She felt so comfortable in his arms. It was warm and safe and soft. Before she knew it, Ib's mind began to dream and she fell asleep.

**Garry**

As Ib and Garry were walking together, Garry couldn't help but glance at Ib on more than a few occasions. Whenever she caught him looking, he would blush and look away. She would just give him a confused smile.

He was still trying to comprehend that the young lady in front of him was indeed his little companion. He knew that it was her; there was no denying the proof in front of him. She had the same exact features as the little girl. She even had the same mannerisms. Yet, it was still hard for him to believe. He eventually concluded that he just needed to get used to this older Ib.

What would be even harder to get used to would be that Ib had grown up to be such a beautiful, proper young lady. It was so strange. When she was nine, he simply thought she was a cute little kid who was pretty well behaved. Now that she was grown up…

Garry shook his head. He distracted himself by looking at the paintings in the corridor. He did not want to think about how soft the young lady in his arms was. He avoided thinking about how her hair smelled nice. He did not want to admit that he kind of liked holding her.

To distract himself further, Garry said, "Ib does this painting look interesting to you?"

There was no response. Garry looked down at her and saw that she was sleeping. Her lovely face was peaceful and he could hear Ib's soft breathing. He smiled and thought, _"She is really cute!" _No matter what age Ib was, she would always look sweet and innocent.

Garry wondered if he should find a room for her to rest in. He eventually decided against it; he had gotten a glimpse of how upset she could get and did not want to see it in its entirety. She would definitely get upset if he stopped. Garry had heard somewhere that sometimes the quietest people can have the scariest anger. It almost frightened him to see that combined with a woman's fury. _"Girls sure can be scary."_ Garry thought to himself.

Garry went on through Guertena's World with Ib in his arms. The girl did not stir even once, not even when he sprinted past the painted ladies. Even a few of his girlish screams were not enough to wake her. Garry figured she really must be tired.

Exactly how long had she been surviving in this world? It was a good thing she had found him when she did. She was barely able to go on by herself. He could protect her from the things that lurked in this world. And most of all, he could protect her from the greatest danger here: Mary.

Garry did not know what had caused Ib to be convinced that Mary was safe to be around. He knew one thing for sure; he would not fall into Mary's trap. He had let it happen once, but that was going to be that last time. That girl was dangerous and always would be, despite whatever Ib told him. He remembered what she did. And he would never forget.

While deep in his thoughts, Garry did not notice the painting straight ahead. Right before he walked in front of it, the smiling painting spit blue paint at him. Startled, Garry screeched and fell to the ground. The black painting with the red smile simply looked at him as if his actions amused it.

Garry was about to shout at it when a sleepy voice said, "Garry…What's wrong…?"

The fall seemed to have woken Ib up. Garry looked at her, embarrassed. "Oh, um…Nothing at all. I was just startled."

Ib looked at the smiling painting and the blue paint on the floor. She giggled drowsily. "I see. We should make sure to avoid that blue paint on the floor…"

"Sorry to wake you. I can keep on carrying you while you nap, if you like."

Her cheeks turned slightly rosy. Garry liked it when she did that. "I-it's alright. I can walk on my own now. I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden at all. I don't mind carrying you."

"No, I'm fine for now, but thank you. How long was I asleep?"

"About thirty minutes, give or take. Not long enough if you ask me. You must really have been tired. You were out like a light."

There was a short pause between them. Ib must have still been drowsy because she simply said "Oh…" distantly.

It took a few more moments for Ib to suddenly become aware of herself. During their whole little conversation, Garry was on the floor with Ib still sitting on his lap. She must have realized this because she turned as red as a tomato and hastily scrambled to lift herself off. Garry tried to resist from chuckling.

"Um…S-shall we get going?"

"Sure." Garry replied lightheartedly.

As the two were walking down the corridor into a new room, Ib noticed that Garry was fidgeting a bit.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Oh, no, not really." He said. "I'm just feeling restless, that's all."

"Why is that?"

"I've been trying to quit smoking. I get antsy when I get a craving. I usually keep some lemon candies in my pocket to take the edge off, but I'm out."

"You must have given your last one to me. Actually, Garry, I have some lemon candies with me. Do you want a few?"

Garry turned to Ib and looked surprised. "Really? That would be great."

Ib took some out of her satchel and handed him the candies. "I always carry them around. I realized I grew a love for them after you gave me one when I was nine. I've been addicted to them ever since."

"You really liked them that much?"

"Well…I never got to try the one you gave me. Mary ate it before I could. I got angry with her and went out and bought the same kind of candy soon after. I suppose I just wanted to eat the one you gave me."

Garry looked down to hide his blush. "If you feel that way…here." He gave her the candy he was about to eat. He had even taken the wrapper off of it.

"Why…?"

"You wanted the one I gave you ten years ago, right? This may not be the same thing, but I hope it alright."

Ib looked at it. Her entire face lit up and she beamed wonderfully. "Thank you!" She cried. She popped the candy in her mouth and looked happier than ever. Garry wondered why such a simple lemon candy made her so happy. Whatever the reason, he felt pleased to know she loved it. He put another candy in his mouth and watched her as she ate hers cutely.

They both heard a growling sound. Garry looked around, confused, until he saw Ib's face. She was embarrassed. "Sorry." She said. "It was my stomach. I haven't eaten anything since I came into this world."

Garry laughed out loud. "Oh, so that's it. There's no need to apologize. Now that you mention it, I'm hungry, too. That's probably because I haven't eaten anything in ten years."

"We need to get out of here and eat something."

"And when we do, let's go eat a meal together. I know this great café. Hopefully it's still open…"

"That sounds wonderful! I can't wait!"

The two smiled at each other. Garry really did enjoy her company. It was more fun to talk to her now that she was older and she could relate to Garry about more things. In a way, he was lucky to be trapped here because he met her.

Ib came to an abrupt stop. Garry wondered why and then looked ahead. There was a door at the end of the room. There was a paper stuck to the wall next to the door. He walked towards it and read it aloud. "One of them has the key."He read.

"What do you suppose that means?" Ib asked.

As Ib was speaking, Garry tried to open the door. It was locked. "I guess it means we have to the find the key. When it says 'them' it probably means one of the art pieces."

They looked around the orange room they had entered a little while ago. It was fairly large, with mannequin heads scattered everywhere, as well as porcelain busts. There were a few paintings on the wall near the door, including a couple paintings of _The Lady in Red _and _The Lady in Blue_. In the very center of the room, was a smaller enclosed space big enough to be an office. It was essentially a smaller room within a larger one.

The sight of the paintings of the ladies made Garry uneasy. They did not seem to be active paintings, but he never knew when they could suddenly spring to life. Even the mannequin heads had bothered him. He had not had good experiences with them in the past.

Garry looked on. Ib started moving and picked up one of the mannequin heads. She began shaking it. "What are you doing, Ib?" He asked.

"It said the key is with one of them. Maybe it's inside one of the mannequins."

"That's actually a pretty good idea." Garry picked up another mannequin head and shook it. There was no sound. He picked up another. Again, no noise came from it. He tried the same thing with a several more and each time there was no sound of a key inside them.

"Did you find anything?" Garry called.

"No, nothing." Ib was now shaking the porcelain busts. It appeared to be a more difficult task for her, as the busts were bigger and heavier.

"Here, let me help you." Garry strolled over to Ib and kneeled down next to her. They both shook the bust that stood on the floor. A sound could be heard from inside.

"Oh! That must be the key!" Ib exclaimed.

"Great! Now we just have to break this open." Garry said.

"I don't really like the idea of hurting the art pieces…"

"It's the only way to get the key out. We don't have a choice."

"Well…I suppose you're right…"

Ib stood back a few feet while Garry pushed the bust over with great force. It shattered completely. Ib picked up the purple key that was inside with her handkerchief. "Here's the key." She said. "But the door is orange and this key is purple. I'm not sure if it will work…"

She handed the key to Garry and he tried it with the door. It was no use. "Well, that room over there has a purple door." He stated. "It'll probably work on that."

They went over to the small room in the center and used the purple key. The purple door opened effortlessly with it. The two cautiously stepped inside. Garry hated what was inside the room instantly.

There were creepy blue dolls with red eyes everywhere. They were all over the floor and sitting on shelves in row after row. They were even smiling on top of a few bookcases. Shivers went down Garry's spine.

"L-let's find what we need and leave." He stammered.

"Are you scared of these blue dolls, Garry?"

"No, like I said last time we saw them, they're just unsettling. But you thought they were cute."

"What…? I thought the bunny ornaments were cute, not these blue dolls. But I guess they are a little cute, too…"

"I remember that last time the room was full of these blue dolls, not bunnies."

"Well, I remember the room was full of bunny ornaments."

"How strange. We are thinking of the same room, aren't we?"

"If you are talking about the first violet room we visited, then yes."

"Yes, that is what I'm thinking of. Let me get this straight. We are talking about the same room. But I saw a room full of creepy blue dolls and you saw cute bunny ornaments. Is that correct?"

"Yes…But I don't see any bunny ornaments now…"

"What do you see?"

"I see a room full of blue dolls."

"So we both see the same thing now?"

"I suppose so…We both see the blue dolls…Does that mean? What happened to the bunnies? Mary saw them and said they were cute, too…"

"We don't know what she was seeing. But I'm leaning towards thinking that the bunnies weren't real. Do you remember the excerpt from a book we read in that room?"

"Um…I don't remember what it said…"

"You probably wouldn't. You saw it ten years ago. But it's still mostly fresh in my mind. The book said something about hallucinating. I believe it said if you suffer too much in this world, you will start to hallucinate and you will not even notice it is happening."

"I…hallucinated…?"

"That's the only thing I can conclude. You did suffer a lot in this world ten years ago. You saw frightening things that no little girl should ever see. You even fainted and had a nightmare."

"It does make sense…But why am I able to see them normally now?"

Garry shrugged. "You must be in a better state than you were last time. Maybe you're just used to the things in this world by now."

Ib looked down at the dolls and looked as if she was deep in thought. Garry allowed her to think for a while.

In the meantime, he looked around the room for a key. His actions seemed vaguely familiar. He suffered from a bit of déjà vu for a moment. It felt like he had done this before. His memories were fuzzy and decided he didn't want to remember. He had a bad feeling about it.

While Garry was searching, he heard a voice. _"I have the key!" _

Garry was surprised. He looked around the room. There was no one in sight, except for Ib. "Ib, did you say something?"

She lifted her head. She was now over at the book shelves, reading. She shook her head. "No…What did you hear?"

"I thought I heard someone say they have the key. Maybe _I'm_ starting to hallucinate now…" Garry sighed. Staying here for too long was would make him go completely mad.

He went back to searching. A minute later he heard it again. _"Over here! I have the key!"_

He quickly looked up. He definitely heard something. "Um…Ib…You said something, right?"

Ib frowned. "No…I didn't…"

"Oh…okay, then…Never mind."

Garry turned around and continued checking the dolls. Not even half a minute later, the voice spoke again. _"I'm not over there. I'm behind you! I'm over here!"_

Garry's head snapped back up and he scanned the room. Someone really was calling out to him. Ib was the only one here. But she didn't seem like the type that would pull these kinds of pranks. "Um…Ib…?"

"What did you hear, Garry?" Ib put down the book she was reading. She had a serious look on her face. There was also a bit of concern on it.

"I heard someone calling out to me. I hope it was real and I'm not going crazy."

"I don't think you're going crazy. I think I know what's happening."

"R-really? What do you think?"

"I think you can hear the dolls speaking to you."

"What? How can that be possible?"

"I don't know. But I know that's what's happening because the same thing was happening with Mary. She kept on hearing things that I couldn't. She was really hearing the painting's whispers and I believe that she could communicate with them. You're doing the same thing she was doing before we found out about her talent."

"Her…talent…?"

"Yes. I believe you have it, too. Why don't you try communicating with the voice?"

The idea seemed crazy to Garry, but it was worth trying at this point. "Okay…Um…hello? I'm speaking to whoever was calling to me…" He felt like he was talking to a wall. Ib motioned for him to keep going. "Uh…you said you had the key. Can you tell me where it is?"

There was silence. Just as Garry was going to give up talking to whatever it was that was calling him, he heard the voice. _"Finally you're listening to me! Look over here! I'm over here with the key!"_

Garry hesitated for a moment before answering. "Where are you? You have to be more specific."

_"Oh, Okay! I'm behind you. Look to your left. Ah! I mean my left! Good. I'm on the shelf at the very top at the end."_

Garry followed the voice's directions. He reached for a doll on the top shelf. "Is this you?" He asked.

_"Yes! You found me! Hurray!"_

"So…um…where's the key?"

_"Reach into my shirt. It's on my back."_

Garry stuck his hand in the dolls shirt. He felt around and pulled out an orange key. He gave a sigh of relief. Garry put the doll back on the shelf. "Here's the key. We can leave this unsettling place now, Ib."

"Thank goodness." She laughed.

As Garry was turning to leave, the doll called out to him again. _"W-wait! Where are you going?"_

Garry looked at it. "What do you mean 'where am I going'? I'm leaving this place and moving on."

_"Take me with you! I want to go, too!"_

"No way. Not in a million years."

_"But I helped you find the key!"_

"And I'm grateful for that. Thank you. But I'm not taking you."

Ib spoke up. "What's wrong, Garry?"

He huffed heavily. "This doll wants to come with us. I'm trying to tell it no."

_"Take me! Take me! Take me! Take me!"_

"For the last time, no!"

"I don't see why it can't come with us. It's not something that's too heavy to carry." Ib said.

"What…? But…"

_"Yeah! Listen to her! She knows what she's talking about!"_

Garry glared at the doll. "You shut up."

"I can carry it, Garry. I think it's even small enough to fit in my satchel. If it wants to come, it's really no trouble."

Garry sighed. "You like it, don't you?"

Ib nodded and smiled. "Can we take it?"

He looked at the doll and then at Ib. "Well…if you insist…"

_"Yay! Take me! Take me! Take me!" _

Garry grabbed the doll by its head and handed it over to Ib. She hugged it close and held it gently in her arms. "Thank you. I hope I'm not troubling you." She said.

"No, _you're_ not troubling me…" Garry said under his breath.

"What was that?"

Nothing. Shall we get going?"

"Yes. We need hurry."

Garry and Ib, still holding the doll tenderly in her arms, left the room. As they closed the purple door, they heard two crashes. Garry peeked around the corner of the small purple structure. The ladies in the paintings had sprung to life and were dragging themselves toward Garry and Ib.

Garry looked at his companion. She looked back, frightened. Without thinking, he scooped her up in his arms. It took him a several seconds to gather his courage before bolting into the paintings' direction. He swiftly sprinted past them before they could grab hold of him and Ib. He made it to the door and jammed the orange key into the lock and twisted it. The door opened. Garry ran out and slammed the door shut before the painted ladies could catch up. He could banging on the door as he sprinted down the stairs in front of him and ran down a long corridor.

Garry decided that he decided he had put enough distance between him and the murderous paintings after a couple minutes of running. He rested on the floor with Ib patting his back. It felt very soothing.

_"Wow, Garry! You can run really fast! I've never seen anyone run that fast before! You must've been really scared!"_ The doll laughed.

"Shut…up…" Garry said in between each pant. He saw Ib blink in surprise. "Oh, sorry…Not you, Ib…I was talking to the doll…"

"Oh, I see." She smiled. She continued patting his back.

_"Hey…I want my back patted, too."_

"You can't."

_"That's no fair! I want a pretty girl to pat me, too!"_

"You didn't work for it…and wait…Are you a guy doll or a girl?"

_"I'm a guy doll, of course! Can't you tell the difference?" _

"No, I'm not a creepy doll like you."

_"I guess it's because you haven't been here long. But that's okay. Now you know. Anyway, you know what? I don't mind not being patted anymore. I'm just happy sitting on a pretty girl's lap! You gotta appreciate the little things!"_

Garry gave the doll a death stare. "Why you…!" He looked up at Ib. She seemed amused. He ignored that for now and exclaimed, "Ib, I don't think you should carry that doll anymore."

She cocked her head to one side. "Why?"

"Because…because… it's…" Garry didn't know how to explain.

_"No! I want her to keep holding me! She's super soft and warm! I like her!"_

"Would you stop saying those things? And get off of her!"

_"Why should I?" _The doll said stubbornly. _"She likes holding me too! She likes me too!"_

Garry's fury was rising by the second. He grabbed the doll from Ib viciously. Ib was startled. "Garry? Garry! Please don't hurt it! I don't know what it said to you, but I'm sure it didn't mean any harm!"

Garry stared at Ib with a stunned look. He held the doll in the air. He looked at Ib. He seemed to have upset her. "Sorry." He apologized. "That was immature of me." He gave the doll back to Ib.

_"You bet you're sorry!" _It cried. _"I bet Garry is just jealous that Ib likes me better than him!" _

"What? What are you talking abo-"

_"I bet Garry likes Ib, too. That's why you're so jealous!" _

Garry became flustered. "What are you saying? Stop being saying stupid things!" His entire face was red. Ib looked at him with a confused expression. Before Ib could question him, Garry almost yelled, "We should get going now." He stood up and marched down the corridor. Ib followed right behind him.

They walked quietly for a while. The doll had also stopped blurting things out, which allowed Garry to cool his head. When he could think clearly again, he realized how rudely he had acted before. He felt embarrassed by his actions.

Garry spun around to face Ib. She stopped walking and looked up at him. "I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to act so rudely. I was being immature again. Please forgive me."

"N-no, I'm sorry!" She stuttered. "I didn't know this doll would upset you this much. If I knew, I wouldn't have insisted on taking it. If you want, I can leave it behind…"

_"No! No! I wanna go, too! Tell her I wanna stay, Garry!"_

Garry ignored the doll. "No, it's alright. You can keep it. I just need to work on not losing my temper so easily."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You like it. I don't want to force you to leave behind something you like." Garry smiled warmly at her.

She smiled wholeheartedly back. "Thank you."

Suddenly, Ib's smile faded. Her eyes bulged. She was looking at something behind him. Garry looked back to see what it was. He didn't see anything. Without saying a word, Ib walked past him and almost collapsed to the ground. "I-Ib?"

Garry ran to where Ib was. She was next to a small puddle of what looked like dried blood. He saw that she was holding something. She must have picked it up just now. He looked closer and saw that it was a blue ribbon. It was looked lovely and had pieces of lace sown to the ends. Ib was staring at it in shock. "What's wrong?" Garry asked.

"Mary…" She whispered.

"What about her?"

"Mary…This was Mary's ribbon. She was wearing it in her hair."

"Are you sure it's hers?"

"Y-yes! She wore it all the time!" Ib cried. "I…I made it for her…for her birthday."

Garry thought it was ironic that she had a birthday, considering no one actually gave birth to the girl. But he chose to keep his mouth shut about that. Instead, he said, "What's it doing here?"

"I-I don't know! But Mary has to be close by! We have to hurry!"

Ib got on her feet and was almost running down the hallway. She went past a door that was already unlocked, with Garry on her heels. Somehow, she became faster than Garry and he lost sight of her. "Ib! Wait!' He called.

Garry went around a corner and found Ib kneeling down once again. She was holding a long stick. "This was her walking stick. She had it because her foot was injured. She can't be too far now!" Ib got up and ran. Garry quickly followed her, but soon lost sight of her again.

"Ib? Ib! Wait! We have to stick together!" Garry was worried that this was a trap made by Mary. He had to find Ib before anything horrible happened to her.

Garry ran down some stairs and heard Ib shouting up ahead. "Mary! Mary! Please! Answer me! Please!"

Garry ran faster. He ran as hard as he could and saw them in the room straight ahead. He stopped in front of them. Ib was holding a girl in her arms and shouting for her to respond. The girl looked younger than Ib. She had short blonde hair and wore a green dress that appeared to be shorter in the front and longer in the back. She had on a simple, but stylish necklace and equally stylish sandals. She really was injured on her feet and hands. Despite this, she still looked elegant.

Ib looked up at Garry in a state of panic. Tears were streaming down her face. "Garry! What do I do? She's not responding! She's pale and cold! I don't know what to do! She needs help!" Ib looked down to the girl again. "Mary! Answer me! Don't do this! Please! Mary! Mary!"

All Garry could do was sit down next to Ib and watch as the blonde girl died.


	8. Chapter 8

Mary hated being by herself. Especially in this world. She acted tough most of the time, but she was probably the one who was scared the most. It was all an act. She hated to show that she was weak.

Her big sister never showed any fear. She was always brave and guided Mary through this world. She saved Mary so many times. Ib was her knight in shining armor. She never let anything bad happen to Mary. She always took care of her.

But now Mary was all alone. Her protector was nowhere to be found. They had been separated for what seemed like a couple hours. Mary had already been alone for two hours. She was scared. She was so lonely. She hated it. She wanted her big sister back.

Mary hobbled her way down several flights of stairs. It was exhausting and difficult. If Ib was here, she would be able to help Mary. She would be able to support Mary. Her sweet big sister would help her down all these steps.

As Mary was going down the last flight of stairs, her foot slipped. She tried to grab onto something, anything, to keep from falling. But there was nothing on the wall to hold onto. Mary tumbled helplessly down the stairs, covering her head with her arms and hands. Each step she fell down mercilessly jabbed into her sides, stomach, back, legs, and everywhere else. Even her walking stick was her enemy during her long descent. It dug into her ribs and abdomen and knocked the wind out of her.

By the time she made it to the floor, she was a bloody heap full of fresh, new injuries. Mary lied on the floor and concentrated on regaining her lost air. When she was able to breathe properly again, she noticed there was warm liquid dripping down her face. It fell into her mouth and she tasted it before looking at drops of it on the floor. She tasted blood.

Mary touched her face and felt it flowing down. It felt like she had a cut above her left eyebrow. It was bleeding and it stung when she touched it. She reached further down her face and figured out that most of the blood was gushing from her nose. She desperately hoped her nose was not broken. She tenderly touched and prodded it. It seemed to still be in its right place. This gave her a little hope.

Mary stood on all fours and tried not to get any blood on her dress. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her rose. It was wrapped in her handkerchief and she used that to wipe away the blood. Mary didn't want to stain her nice cloth, but she also didn't want to stain her dress. Sacrifices had to be made. After the blood was cleaned, Mary tilted her head back and held her nose with the dirty handkerchief. She did this until her nosebleed stopped.

She eventually crawled to the wall and sat down; safely away from the tiny puddle of blood she created. Her body hurt all over. She was still able to move her limbs, which probably meant nothing was broken. But that didn't mean she was left without bruises.

Mary looked at her rose. It seemed as though a couple petals were ripped off during the fall. She looked in her other pocket. Her palette knife was still there. She was grateful that she had not been holding it when she fell. Who knows how much worse she would have been if it was not secured in her pocket?

She rested for a long time. Mary did not want to get up. It wasn't that she was exhausted, although that was part of it. She no longer had the will to go on. She was sick of this whole world. She hated every minute she was here. Angry tears left her eyes. She was so frustrated. She just wanted to go home. She wanted to see her family again. Mary just wanted to be safe in her room again and laughing with her big sister.

As Mary cried, she heard snickering. She looked up. It sounded like the laughter was coming from the painting above her. Mary got up with the help of her walking stick and faced the painting. "What are you laughing at?" She demanded.

The painting depicted a lovely looking woman in an elegant dress holding a glass of wine. She appeared to be inside a dark bar with bottles of wine all around her. The painting was titled _Night Bottle_. Unlike the jester painting, the painted woman was quick to answer. "You were just feeling sorry for yourself, weren't you? How pathetic."

Mary was stunned by the woman's words. They stung because they were true. However, she did not want to admit it. "Who are you to talk? You don't know me."

"Oh, but I do." The woman snickered and continued in her Italian accent. "I watched you all those years. All of us did."

"What are you talking about?"

"We all watched you when you were a stupid child. You would always go about this place feeling sorry for yourself. That was how we knew you, the sulking crybaby. Always crying to leave this world."

Mary hated the woman. "If you had any idea what the outside world was like, you would want to leave this place, too."

"Hmm, perhaps. But I have no desire to see it. This place is my home. So a lost child yourself would also want to go home. You did not belong here."

Was this woman feeling sorry for her now? "What do you mean I didn't belong here? I was born a painting in this world, too."

"If you had any brain in that tiny head of yours, you would remember that you were not. You were never supposed to be in this place."

She was back to insults? This woman was fickle. "But…I was a painting in this world…"

"Yes, you were once. However, just because you were, does not mean you were always a painting here. Just like that man."

"What man?"

"The one that you murdered. He became a painting after you slaughtered him and escaped to the outside." The woman spoke in a cool voice, as if she was not astonished by Mary's evil deed.

"Garry…He became a painting…?"

"Yes. And just like you once did, he walks freely in this world. Although he has yet to believe like you that he was actually born here…"

"Garry and I are the same?"

"For last time, yes, you idiotic child."

"S-so…I…I wasn't always a painting? I was human once, too? I wasn't born here?"

"I truly am getting tired of this…"

Mary looked down to her feet. She wasn't born here. She was human. She really wasn't a painting. She was real. She was real! Mary was not a fake existence! She was giddy with excitement. She was real!

But there was something that still bothered her. "I think this is what I tried to remember earlier. But something stopped me. I got a huge headache. Why did that happen?"

"How should I know? Maybe you didn't want to remember. I don't know what goes on in that tiny head of yours. Find out for yourself."

Mary did not reply to the painting. She was thinking. What would she not to remember? This was a good thing. Remembering would definitely be a good thing…right?

"Thanks for telling me. I think I'll go for a walk to help jog my memory!"

"You're welcome…" The woman answered indifferently.

Mary walked down the hallway. She had a lot of things to think about. That woman said she was not really born here. She also mentioned that Garry was alive, although he was now a painting. But she'll think about that later. She had to focus on regaining her lost memories.

As she strolled with the aid of her walking stick, Mary once again dug deep in her mind. She picked up where she last left off. Something in her was telling her not to remember, but she ignored it.

That older girl pushed her back into this world. Who was she? Why would she do that? Who would be so cruel as to leave someone behind in this dreadful place?

Mary swallowed hard. She knew the answer to that. She had done it herself. But she was a little girl. Garry was a man, an adult. He had lived his life. Or at least some of it. Mary didn't have a chance to live her life. She deserved to live. Who would blame her for wanting a chance at life? Even though she thought this, her conscious still didn't clear. The guilt loomed over her head.

She pushed those thoughts away. The older girl. Mary had to think about the older girl. She summoned up every memory she had of the girl. The memories were hazy. She still couldn't for the life of her remember the girl's face or her name. But Mary did recall some of her features. She had curly, raven hair that went just past her shoulder blades. She wore a long, black skirt and a beautiful blouse. Mary recollected that she wore a hat that she thought was very pretty.

Thinking about the pretty hat, Mary thought her head felt slightly lighter. She reached up and put her hand on her head. There was nothing there. Her hair ribbon was missing. Mary's heart sank. Where was it? She looked around the floor. It was nowhere to be found. Where could she have dropped it? The only place she thought it could be was the stairs. It must have fallen off when she fell.

Mary looked back to where she came. She had already gone past through several corridors and a door that was rather easy to unlock. She wasn't paying attention to the path she was taking. Mary searched and searched, but she could not find her way back to her blue ribbon or the stairs. Her eyes stung. Ib would be so disappointed. She had lost her precious ribbon, the one her big sister had painstakingly made for her birthday. How would she explain this to Ib?

Mary walked on without it, trying to blink back tears. She remembered something Ib said once before. Ib told her a long time ago that she would always think positively and look on the bright side. That was how she got through constantly being sick and in the hospital all the time and not going to school and still managing to be cheery. Mary tried, but it was hard to be cheerful without her big sister. She wondered how Ib did it all the time.

Mary went past several paintings and sculptures as she walked. She could hear them laughing at her. Some of them would whisper and make fun of her. When did everyone in this place become so cruel? She worked to ignore their snickering and ridicule.

But she could still hear them. Her mood was not the best at this point and the art pieces were only aggravating it. Mary was feeling worse and worse. She hated this feeling. It felt like something was crawling under her skin and clouding her mind with dark thoughts.

She hated it. She hated everything. She hated her injuries. She hated walking through this place. She hated being exhausted. She hated the décor. She hated the art pieces. She hated whatever had brought her into this place. She hated it for forcing her to stay. She hated being here. She wanted to get out. She would do anything to get out. She would kill. She would cut anything down in order to leave this place. She would hurt anyone. She would kill Garry again to escape. She would even kill her big sister…The annoying, cheery, older sister that thought she was smarter than Mary…

Mary stopped what she was doing. She dropped to the floor and put her hands and her head. What was she thinking? Mary didn't want that. She loved Ib. She would never hurt her. Never. Mary wasn't like that. She would never consider it.

The thoughts that just went through Mary's head petrified her. Her entire body shook with terror. What was going on? Those thoughts were not her own. Mary would never think that about her sister. It was like someone was putting dark things in her mind. How did she get like this? Why had her mood changed so quickly? Only about thirty minutes ago, she was so happy to find out she was human. But right now, Mary didn't feel human. She felt like a monster.

Mary heard giggling again. She didn't bother to move her trembling head in order to look up. She only listened to it whispering. _"It's happening. It's finally happening."_

_ "Finally!" _Another voice whispered back. _"I thought I would never see it."_

Multiple voices were now speaking all at once. _"Yes. I was getting impatient."_

_ "Soon, we can finally have a meal."_

_ "I hope her soul is tasty."_

_ "I'm starving. When was the last time we ate?"_

_ "Too long to remember. We couldn't eat that man because we needed him."_

_ "He was useless for a long time. He always refused to bring things in to eat."_

_ "He finally brought these in. And soon we could eat him, too, because there's an even better caretaker here."_

_ "You're all annoying me. I'm too hungry to listen to that rambling. When can we eat her?"_

_ "Shush. This takes time. You have to let the process run its course."_

_ "How long now?"_

_ "Well…the madness is already taking her…So not long."_

_ "That's what you said last time. She had the madness when we had the caretaker's mind distracted, but she just shook it away. We even used the jester to speed it up. Even the caretaker broke free from our grasp."_

_ "Yes, but I believe it was because she had the caretaker with her that she was able to break free. But do you see the caretaker now? The caretaker is occupied with the man's soul."_

_ "Oh I see! The caretaker keeps the madness away!"_

_ "Yes. She is the only one who in here who is immune to the madness. At least now she is. And that is one reason why she is the perfect caretaker."_

_ "Ha ha! Remember when we tried to eat her, too? It was a good thing she thwarted our efforts, or else she wouldn't be here now."_

Mary heard enough of them. "Shut up." She whispered shakily.

_"Oh, she can still speak."_

_ "Why isn't she consumed by the madness?"_

"Shut up." Mary repeated.

_"I told you, this takes time. She has the madness, but it still needs to overtake all of her."_

"Would you all just shut up?!" Mary stood up and leaned against the wall for support.

_"Well, it needs to hurry up. The caretaker will be here soon."_

"Shut up! Stop talking! I'm tired of hearing all your damn voices! Just shut the hell up!"

_"Don't worry. See? The madness is taking over. We can still consume her soul before the caretaker arrives."_

Mary screamed. She screamed over and over. It was partly because she wanted to drown out the sound of the voices. It was also because she had no choice. It was almost as if something was taking control over her body. She tried to fight it. Mary pulled at her own hair. She scratched her arms and her neck. She drew some blood. Something in her was brought satisfaction from it. She hated it.

She ran down the corridor, trying to escape the laughing art works and the dark force that was overwhelming her. She ignored the pain the in her foot. She ran as fast as she could, all the while screaming and trying to brush off invisible hands clinging to her arms.

Mary stumbled and crashed to the ground. She was now unable to move her body. She twitched whenever she tried to take back control of it. It felt like something was holding her down. A thought that was not her own creeping into her mind. _ "Just give up." _It hissed.

With no control over her own body and darkness clouding her mind, she complied. Mary allowed it to completely overpower her soul. She was already so tired of fighting. She was tired of surviving here. She just wanted to be done with this whole place.

As she felt her life force being drained right out of her, everything came back to her. Mary remembered her old life. It pained her to remember the family she lost. It hurt to remember everything she went through. The memories were so horrible. It hurt. Remembering hurt. She realized that was why she didn't want to remember. Remembering meant excruciating pain. It was that girl's fault. The older girl with the black hair. She took everything from Mary.

She remembered that the girl had a black rose. She also recalled that as the girl climbed through the exit from Guertena's World, she told her "You're not Mary anymore. I'm going to be Mary. I'm going to become the new Mary Walsh. You are no longer needed."

Mary recalled shouting to the girl that took everything from her. She begged the girl not to leave her here. She told the girl her mama and papa would never accept her as their little girl. Mary was their little girl. They told her she was the most precious thing in their lives. Mary was. Mary was. Not her. She would never be Mary. She was Mary. She remembered saying it over and over again. She repeated it even after the girl was gone. She repeated it so many times that she forgot her own last name.

"I am Mary…" Mary breathed. "I am Mary…I…am Mary…I am Mary… I am…Mary…" She said those words over and over. She said it like it was some kind of spell. She repeated it until she could no longer speak. She still continued thinking it and moving her lips just barely.

It seemed like Mary was on the floor repeating those words for hours. She knew she was dying. In what felt like her final moments, she heard a voice calling to her. It made her so happy to hear that voice. At least she was allowed a tiny bit of happiness before she left this world.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for reading my humble story! I'm glad you all love it. Before you all start reading, I have to add a little disclaimer here. I did not make up the lyrics for the song (I'm Fighting for You, aka Garry's theme) I wrote into the story. They were made by Ashestoashesjc on YouTube. You should check him out, he's a great singer! He did a great job covering Garry's theme. And if you want to listen to the version I was listening to while writing, listen to Chiika's cover of the song! She also did an amazing job and you can get an idea of what Ib's voice would sound like if you listen to it. Heck, I would recommend listening to it while you read the lyrics in the story! Just search "Garry's theme chiika" on YouTube. You will not be disappointed. Anyway, thanks again for reading and enjoy! **

Garry and Ib sat next to Mary's corpse. Garry was quietly watching, at loss of what to do. There was nothing he could do. Nothing at all. Ib was sobbing her heart out and held Mary close to her. She cradled the girl in her arms and was still shouting at her to wake up. Garry wanted to tell her it was no use, that Mary was already dead.

_"I know what you're thinking."_ The doll spoke to Garry. Garry jumped. He had forgotten about the doll. It was on the floor this whole time, next to them, simply watching for a few minutes before speaking up. He looked to it.

"What are you talking about?" He said in a hushed voice.

_"I wasn't supposed to tell you this…but…I don't like seeing Ib cry…"_

Garry stared at the doll. What was it keeping from them? "Tell me. Right now."

It spoke quickly. _"She's not dead, ya know. She almost is, but not yet. I know you were thinking she was dead. But if you guys will be quiet for a sec and look at her you can see she's not."_

His eyes bulged. Was the doll telling the truth? There was only one way to find out. "Um…Ib? Ib…can you listen?"

Ib looked up at Garry. Tears were falling down endlessly and her eyes, nose, and cheeks were red. She tried to choke back her tears and managed, "W-what…i-is it?"

Garry hated seeing her this way. He spoke as fast as he could. "The doll said she isn't dead."

Ib immediately responded. "W-what? S-she's n-not?"

"It said if we be quiet and watch her closely we can see that she's still alive."

Ib bobbed her head up and down. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to make as little noise as possible. Garry examined Mary. Her face looked pretty much lifeless. But had he not been looking closely, he would not have noticed that her lips were moving ever so slightly. "Look, Ib!" He said. "Her lips are moving!"

Ib looked down at her and saw it. "I-I d-didn't notice it b-before…" She stammered through her tears.

"I can understand why. I almost didn't notice it either just now. But she's alive. That's all that matters." Despite having resented her before, Garry actually found some relief in knowing that Mary was alive.

"H-how do we h-help her? S-she needs h-help, Garry!"

"Um…where's her rose? We need her rose!"

"She keeps i-it in her p-pocket!"

Garry reached into the nearest pocket. He found little things it that she probably collected before and a palette knife. The sight of it gave Garry chills. He ignored it for now and searched the other pocket. He found her rose wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. He unwrapped the rose and petals fell out from it. The yellow rose appeared as though it had been wilting. It only had a single petal left. Garry acted swiftly.

"We need to find a vase with water."

"O-okay."

Garry handed the rose to Ib. She gently held it in her hands and protected it. He took Mary from her and held her in his arms. She did not open her eyes and her lips continued to move silently. Her entire body was limp like a useless puppet.

Ib handed Garry the walking stick for him to hold, while she gently put the blue doll in her satchel. They ran together and frantically searched for a vase. They searched each room they found and went past the locked doors. There was no time to search for the key. Mary's final petal could fall off at any second. She could die while she was in Garry's arms. The thought only made Garry search even harder. He would never allow that to happen. Not under his care.

While Garry was searching a room, Ib shouted for him in the room next to his. "Garry! I found one! I found a vase!"

He felt instant relief. "Great!" He shouted back. "Put it in!" He ran from the room and entered the room Ib was in. The only things in the room were bookcases and a small table in the corner that held the vase. Ib was gradually unwrapping the fragile yellow rose. She was being careful not to detach the last petal. She slowly supported the rose and dipped it in the fresh water. Instantly, the rose's wilted petal perked up and nine other beautiful golden petals grew back.

Garry set Mary tenderly down on the floor. He removed his coat and put it over her. Ib ran over to her and quickly sat down. She cradled Mary's cheek in her hand. "Mary? Mary, honey, can you hear me?" Ib paused for a few instances. "S-she's not waking up."

"Give her some time." Garry said softly. "Her rose is all better. She _will_ wake up. Try talking to her some more."

Ib nodded. "Mary, I'm here. It's Ib. I came back for you. And you know who else is here? Garry! I found him. Garry is alive, isn't that wonderful? He helped you, too. You should thank him."

"Hey, Mary." Garry said. It felt strange talking to the girl who killed him. It felt even stranger to know that he did everything in his power to save her life. "You owe me one. I expect a gigantic thank you when you get up. Also, when we get out of here, I expect you to buy me some macaroons."

Ib shakily giggled. "You here that, Mary? I hope you saved up your allowance. I want some macaroons, too."

Garry was about to say something again, but he saw Mary's lips begin to move again. He and Ib listened closely. "I…Ma…I…m…" She breathed. Garry looked to Ib. It seemed as though she couldn't understand what she said either.

"What did you say?" Ib asked.

Mary spoke a little louder this time. "I…Mary…am…I…am…"

"What?" Garry said.

"I am…Mary…I…am…Mary…" Mary said louder.

"'I am Mary'?" Ib looked confused.

"I am Mary…I am Mary…I am Mary…" They could hear her clearly now.

"Why is she saying that?" Garry was also confused.

_"It seems like she's still suffering from the madness." _

"What are you talking about?" Garry asked the doll.

_"The madness. It's this crazy thing that happens to peeps like you here."_

"Be specific."

_"This place needs souls to survive. It's how we all live. The world eats people's souls and uses their energy to keep on living. But there's something that's gotta happen before we do."_

Garry already didn't like the sound of this. "What…?"

_"Well, before you guys are ripe for the picking, you need to go through something that's called the madness. The madness makes your soul weak. It breaks you down and tears you apart. That way it's easier to eat your soul. Then it sucks the soul right outta ya."_

"You feed…on people's _souls_?" Garry's blood was starting to boil.

_"Hey, that's just how things are around here. That's just how we survive. It's nothing personal."_

"Nothing personal?! That's your excuse for killing people?!"

Ib was looking at Garry talking to the doll. The doll was still in her bag, so she pulled it out. "Garry? What's wrong?" She looked concerned.

_"Well anyway, do you wanna help her escape the madness or not? If she goes on like this, her rose is gonna wilt again." _

"Alright! How do we help her?"

_"We need something to help distract her from the madness. The only reason you guys were able to save her was 'cause Ib distracted her. Talking to her helps distract, so we need something else to keep her distracted long enough for the madness to go away and for her to talk again. Kinda like how when Ib slapped you outta your madness."_

"My madness? When did I…?"

"Garry, what's it saying?" Ib asked anxiously.

"Uh…it says that we need to distract Mary from the madness."

"Huh? What madness?"

"I'll explain later. We need to help Mary or else her rose will wilt again."

"Okay. How do we do that?"

"I-I don't know. The doll said you slapped me out of madness once before. Maybe we should slap Mary, too…"

"Oh…I remember that…But…I don't really want to slap her…"

"Can you think of anything else?"

"No…I suppose I can try…" Ib paused. She patted Mary's cheek. She tried doing it harder each time Mary would not respond to it. But Ib's patting never became aggressive enough to become a slap to the face.  
"Do you want me to do it?" Garry asked.

"N-no! I can…um…we only need to distract her, right?"

"Long enough for the madness to go away and for her to respond."

"Then…let me try this…" Ib reached into her trusty satchel and pulled out some lemon candies. She unwrapped one.

"What are you…?" Garry started. Before Garry finished his sentence, Ib popped a candy in Mary's mouth.

"Mary really loves them, too." She said. "She's always asking me for more. Maybe this will distract her long enough…" Mary's mouth sounded more stuffed as she spoke.

"The doll said talking to her also distracts her from the madness."

"Mary…Mary can you hear me? I need you to wake up now, honey. Garry and I are waiting for you to wake up. We need to wake up so we can escape this place."

"Come on, Mary. Open your eyes. You can fight this. I know you're a fighter. You proved it yourself. You fought to get out of here the first time and you won. Now I need you to fight again. Just do it once more for me."

"Don't you want to see mother and father again? Once we get out of here, we can both give them a big hug. Doesn't that sound great? You can see all your friends again. And I can get you to study for your next math test."

Garry chuckled. "Math test?"

"She hates math. I always help her study." Ib answered with a smile. She did not look away from Mary while she spoke.

"You know what Mary? I hate math, too. I'm more of a literature person. When you wake up we can talk about how much we hate math."

"I am Mary…I am Mary…I am Mary…" She repeated.

"It's not working." Ib said. She was beginning to look like she wanted to cry.

"Keep trying. We need to keep talking."

"Um…Mary…I…I want you to wake up now. I don't want you to sleep forever. I want to talk to my little sister again. I want to walk out of here with you. I love you, Mary. So, please…open your eyes for me…"

"I am Mary…I am Mary…I…am Mary…I am…"

"Mary…please, honey. I want to talk to you again."

"I am…Mary…I…am Mary…I…am…Mary…"

"We can enjoy lemon candies together again. We can go to a café with Garry."

"I…am…Mary…I…am…I…I…"

"Don't you want to eat macaroons together again? Garry can join us this time. Please…" Ib was on the verge of tears. Garry just stayed quiet and allowed Ib to speak with her.

"I…I…I…Ib…"

Ib stopped short. "What…What did you say?"

"I…Ib…Ib…?"

"Yes, Mary! It's me! I'm here!"

"Ib…? Ib?" Mary was beginning to open her eyes.

"I'm here, honey!"

"Ib? Where…Where…am I?" Her eyes focused on Ib.

"Thank god!" Ib grabbed Mary and held her up in her arms. She hugged her tightly. Ib started crying tears of joy. Garry looked at them and smiled. He was glad to see them together again.

He felt strange again. He had helped save the girl who murdered him. He went even as far as to hate the girl. But seeing her now…Garry couldn't bring himself to hate her. There was no way he could. He could no longer see her as a murderer. He only saw her as a weak, helpless girl that he helped reunite with someone who loved her. It all felt so strange to him. But at the same time he was glad he did it.

_"Well…I'm glad that had a happy ending."_

Garry glared at the doll. "Shut up. You have no right to be talking."

The girls, who were speaking happily to each other, looked to Garry. Ib seemed to understand who he was speaking to. She must have been used to it by now. Mary simply stared at Garry. Her eyes were bulging almost right out of her head and the whites of her eyes could clearly be seen. At first she was shocked. Now she appeared to be frightened by him. Mary hugged Ib tightly and tried moving her body away from Garry.

"M-Mary, it's okay! It's only Garry!" Ib tried to reassure her. Mary continued to cling to Ib. Ib then scolded her. "You shouldn't act rudely like that. Garry helped save you. If it wasn't for him, you probably would be here. You should thank him."

Garry and Mary stared at each other. He was a bit annoyed by her actions. He wasn't a monster, for crying out loud. Mary appeared as though she wanted to protest, but she finally said in a trembling voice, "T-thank you…for saving me…Garry…"

"You're welcome." Garry felt another twinge of annoyance when she jumped at his words. She acted as though he tried to snap at her. "Hey…I'm not a monster." He said. Mary just looked at him with an expression as that of a threatened kitten. Garry, although still bothered, thought she looked kind of cute.

As if to change the subject, Ib said, "So, um…Garry…what was the doll telling you earlier?" Garry responded to her and explained. He repeated everything the doll had told him. He was becoming angry again just talking about it.

Ib held Mary closer. "So that's what was happening to her…" She whispered.

"The paintings were talking about it, too. They wanted me to go mad. They were _enjoying _watching me suffer." Mary's lip quaked. Garry was surprised to hear that she could listen to the paintings until he remembered what Ib told him. She had…a talent. Just like him.

_"Yeah…those guys are the worst. They always like to see entertainment before a meal."_

Mary glared at the doll. "That's just sick."

"So you can hear it, too." Garry stated.

"Yeah. I can hear most everything in this place. I wish I didn't." It seemed as though Mary was finally getting used to Garry's presence.

"I get what you mean…"

"I wish I could at least hear the doll. I always feel left out when Garry talks to it. It looks like a lot of fun." Ib pouted.

"No, Ib. You're really not missing out on anything. You should be lucky that you can't hear a thing."

"Yeah, Ib." Mary said in a low voice. "You never want to hear what those paintings say. They're always talking…laughing at you…making fun of you…and they never stop…"

Both Garry and Ib looked at Mary, concerned. _"She must have gone through hell."_ Garry thought to himself. Even now, she wouldn't stop shaking. She clung to Ib, as if Ib was the only thing she could lean onto in this world.

"Mary…" Ib said. "What happened?" Mary hesitated. She didn't look ready to explain. Ib picked up on it right away. "It's okay if you don't want to talk. I'll understand."

"No…It's alright…It'll probably make me feel better. You know what mom always says…don't keep everything bottled up inside…" Mary went on to explain her terrifying hours alone. She recounted her tumble down the stairs. That explained the fresh bruises and small gash over her eyebrow. She revealed what a certain woman in a painting told her. Both Garry and Ib could not believe what they were hearing. They let her continue to explaining the madness, although she didn't say much about it. It appeared to be too horrible of an experience to ever recount. They all sat quietly in order for everything Mary had said to sink in.

"So…" Ib began. "You were never born a painting here…?"

"No. I even have memories of my old life. I still remember my mama and papa clearly. I still remember that trip to the museum. It was supposed to be a fun day. It was never supposed be a day where my life ended." Mary choked back tears.

"You spent so much time here that you actually thought you were born a painting?" Garry said. "I'm wondering how long it took for that to happen…"

_"Well…in your world's time…she spent exactly eighty years in this place. Some of us kept track for her." _The doll answered.

Garry was stunned. "E-eighty…years…?" He had only spent ten. And he barely remembered any of it. But Mary spent eighty years in this insane place. She was aware of it the whole time. She was lost and alone for eighty years. "Now I can see why you…um…did whatever it took to escape this place the first time…I would go crazy after spending eighty long years in here, too…"

"Eighty years? That's how long Mary was stuck here?" Ib exclaimed. Garry nodded. Ib looked down at Mary, who was looking down to the floor.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered.

"What?" Garry asked.

"I'm sorry, Garry. I'm so, so sorry." She repeated louder. Tears were leaking from her eyes. "I know what I did was wrong now. I'm sorry…I…I'm just…so sorry…I know you hate me…" Ib hugged her softly.

Garry didn't know what to say at first. "I…um…It's…It's okay. I forgive you." He patted her head. "I don't hate you, Mary." Garry smiled at her shyly. He was glad that the words he just said were true. He really couldn't hate her now.

After Ib yawned loudly, Garry suggested that they rest in this room. Both girls quickly agreed. He knew they had both already gone through so much. They were both exhausted. They all sat against the. Garry sat next to Ib, and Mary lay her head on Ib's lap, while still wrapped in Garry's coat.

As soon as they got comfortable, Ib began to doze off. She leaned into Garry's chest and almost fell asleep when Mary called to her. "Ib…I'm scared…"

Ib opened her lethargic eyes. "There's nothing to be scared of Mary. Not anymore. We have Garry now. He'll take care of us until we all get out."

"Yeah, Mary." Garry added. "I just blocked the door off with a bookcase. You're safe. Nothing is getting in here."

"No, it's not that." Mary glared drowsily at Garry. This time he wasn't annoyed with her. Again, he thought of her as a feisty, cute kitten. "I'm just…I'm scared of falling asleep. I'm tired…but…I'm afraid I'll have a nightmare…or the madness will come back." Her voice was shaking.

"It won't. I'm here now. We're both here now. We won't let that happen to you." Ib said it with a tired, but serious tone.

"Okay…But…Ib…can you sing me that song? You know…that lullaby you came up with?"

"Will you go to sleep if I do?"

"Yes."

"Alright, then." Ib said. Garry was also curious to hear this lullaby of hers. He waited for Ib to start. She took a deep breath in and began singing.

_Now that you've found me, _

_My whole world is brighter_

_Now that you've touched me_

_My steps are much lighter_

_All of this world could decide_

_To fall inward_

_And you would still linger_

_Something has brought us together_

_Unspoken_

_Feigning reality, friendship, and wisdom_

_I will defend you_

_I'll keep you beside me_

_That's how I'll repay all the kindness you've shown _

_Now that you've found me_

_I've stumbled through fire_

_Now that you've touched me_

_I've bloomed like a flower_

_Now that you're with me_

_I no longer cower in silence, hiding_

_I'm fighting for you _

_I'm fighting for you_

By the time Ib was finished with the song, Mary was fast asleep. She smiled down at her. "It works every time." She whispered.

Garry stared at Ib in astonishment. He was surprised with her voice. "That was beautiful." He whispered. "You have a sweet voice."

"Thank you. It makes me happy to hear that from you."

"You made that song up? By yourself?"

"Yes. I made it up soon after I visited this place the first time. Now that I think about it, you kind of inspired me to make it."

"Me? How? Why?"

Ib blushed. She looked down. "Oh…um…I guess I was thinking from your point of view while I was making it. And some of my feelings went into the song, too." Garry blushed this time. "I suppose it's like a thank you for protecting me ten years ago. I named the song 'I'm Fighting for You'. I'm fighting to survive this world for you and Mary." Ib smiled sleepily. Everything Ib said made Garry happy.

Garry slowly lifted the arm that was closest to Ib. He hesitated for a few seconds before putting it gently around her waist. He looked at her face. Ib blushed harder, but she didn't protest. She simply beamed up at him before leaning against his chest once more and falling asleep almost instantly.

Garry's heart filled up with excited happiness. He was pleased she didn't reject his touch. He watched the two girls sleep soundly for a while. Soon, he began to feel drowsy himself. He rested his chin on Ib's head and allowed his heavy eyelids to close.

_"Ya know this won't last, right?"_

Garry lifted his head and looked at the blue doll that was on the floor. He glared at it. He didn't want to say anything, in fear he would wake the girls up. Hopefully the doll got the message to shut up.

_"You know it, too. I know you wanna get out with Ib. But that's not possible unless you take one of their places. You should know that by now." _Garry gave it a death stare, but the doll kept on talking. _"Don't gimme that look. The truth hurt, don't it? You're a painting now, just like the rest of us. And now you have to leave one of them behind in order to escape. Who's it gonna be? I know it's not gonna be Ib; you like her. You gonna leave Mary behind, the one who already spent eighty years here?" _

Garry kicked the doll across the room. "Shut…up…" He breathed through clenched teeth.

_"Ow! Garry…it don't matter what you do to me…but you're gonna have to man up about this sooner or later. What will you decide to do?" _And with that, the doll fell silent.

The doll was only saying things he knew already. Of course he had thought about this before. He first thought about it when Ib first mentioned Mary was still alive. He just hated to think about it most of the time. He was always in the back of his mind hoping they never found Mary. He felt horrible for it now.

Garry looked down at Ib. He rested his chin back on her head and held her tighter. He had promised her before that they would get out together and go to a café together and eat macaroons together. It seemed like he would not be able to keep his promises this time around either.


	10. Chapter 10

Mary woke up with a start. She had a nightmare. But now that she was awake, she couldn't remember what it was about. She only had a feeling of dread leftover from it. Cold sweat was still emerging from her skin.

At first, Mary didn't know where she was. Then she saw Ib and Garry sleeping soundly. She remembered what happened. She relaxed when she remembered she was safe with her big sister once again. She felt even safer knowing that Garry was here now. The more people, the better.

Mary gazed at Ib and Garry. But then she noticed how close Ib was to Garry. Her big sister was leaning into him and that man had his head on hers. Mary felt pangs of jealousy and annoyance towards Garry. It grew even more intense when he noticed his arm around her waist. How _dare _he touch _her _sister?

She angrily threw his coat off of herself. Neither of them stirred at the noise she made. Mary silently crawled over to where Garry sat sleeping. The doll noticed her actions. _"What're ya doing?" _It asked.

She looked at it and said nothing. She only put her finger over her lips and whispered "Shh!" She wondered what it was doing all the way across the room, but then shifted her focus back on Garry.

Mary leaned in and put her face only inches from his. He kept on sleeping as she scowled at him. She admitted that he did have a pretty handsome face. Even his whole body was built nicely. But that didn't give him any excuse to make a move on her precious sister.

Mary raised her hand and pinched Garry's cheek. He didn't react to it. She pinched harder. He simply frowned in his sleep. Mary was still not satisfied with his reaction. She pulled on his cheek as hard as she could. Garry groaned drowsily in what sounded like pain. She tried to contain her giggles.

Mary moved on to his hair. She always wondered what was up with his hairstyle. She didn't like it, but she didn't hate it either. In a way, it suited him. She always longed to pull on it. She grabbed one of the of the darker pieces and tugged on it. Garry groaned even louder. It was getting harder to contain her laughter. She jerked the hair and found pleasure in causing him a little pain. Mary gave one last hard yank and the lock of hair detached from his head.

"Ah, it came off." Mary said simply.

Garry eyes snapped open. "Ouch! What the hell?!" He rubbed the spot on his head where the hair was and saw Mary giggling hysterically. "What the hell, Mary?!"

"That's what you get!" She cried.

"Huh? What for?" He said angrily.

"For touching _my_ sister!" Garry looked at her like she was crazy and then he remembered his hand around Ib's waist. His face flushed and he pulled away.

"What do you care?" He scowled at her.

Mary scowled right back. "Ib is mine, you got that? You're not allowed to touch her!"

"What? What makes you think she's yours?"

"She just is! And you can't touch her! Get away from her. You have to be a minimum of ten feet away from her at all times!"

"What are you, her restraining order? And what if Ib wants to touch me?"

"As if! Why would she want to touch a gross guy like you?"

"I-I'm not gross! And look! _She's_ touching _me_!" Garry pointed at Ib, who was still leaning into his chest and sleeping soundly. Mary knew she was always a heavy sleeper.

"Well…she doesn't know she's doing it. And you probably moved her to lean against you, anyway."

"I didn't. You're acting like a child!"

"You're acting like a crybaby! Now get away from Ib, you baby!"

"No! Ib can sleep here if she wants!" Garry hugged Ib closer to him and refused to let go.

"Ugh! Stop acting like a little kid!" Mary pulled Ib's arm and tried to get her away from Garry.

However, Garry was stronger than her and he kept Ib in place. "You're the one acting like a little kid! Is this how you thank me for saving you? Pulling my hair and calling me a baby?"

They had a tug of war over Ib while the doll watched and laughed. _"Ha ha ha! Oh, geez! You guys are hilarious! Go, go, go! I wanna see who wins!"_

"Shut up!" Both of Mary and Garry yelled.

At that moment, Ib opened her sleepy eyes. "Huh…What are you two doing…?" They both immediately released her.

"O-oh…Nothing!" Garry smiled nervously.

"Nothing at all, Ib!" Mary wasn't concerned with Ib noticing their little fight just now. She was always an airhead when she first woke up.

"Oh…" She said. "How did you sleep?"

"I…" Mary almost didn't want to tell Ib. "I had a nightmare…"

"I'm sorry, Mary…Do you want to talk about it?"

"I would, but I don't remember what it was about. I just remember that it was a really bad dream."

"Oh, well, I think I have something that will make you feel better." Ib reached into her satchel and pulled out a familiar blue ribbon.

"My ribbon! I thought I would never see this again!" Mary took the ribbon from Ib. She smiled and held it up. She had her beautiful ribbon back. "I think it fell off when I fell down the stairs. How did you find it?"

"We found it right before we found you. It led us right to you." Ib said kindly.

"Thank you, Ib. I promise I won't lose it ever again!" Mary was about to tie it back on her head, but she stopped. "On second thought…Can you carry it in your bag? I really don't want to lose it again."

"Okay. Oh, and your walking stick is over there. We found that, too. That also reminds me…How's your foot? Can I see it?"

When Ib mentioned Mary's foot, she suddenly noticed how it ached. That's right…she had been running on it while she had the madness…

Mary showed her foot to Ib. The cloth that covered it was dirty and bloodstained. She felt grossed out by her own injury. Ib examined it and looked concerned. Garry was also staring at it. "Oh my gosh…Even your hands…What happened, Mary?"

Mary still didn't want to admit what she did to get these injuries. Thinking about it now, she probably was overtaken by the madness when she murdered that jester painting. She had been suffering from it since then. When Mary didn't answer Garry's question, Ib spoke up. "She accidentally slipped and stepped in glass." Ib was covering for her. She knew that Mary didn't want to talk about it.

Garry seemed to understand what was going on. "Oh…That would explain the injuries on her hands." He played along. He watched as Ib removed the dirty bandage and cleaned Mary's wound as best she could. She produced extra rags from her bag, leftover from the curtain she ripped up. She applied fresh curtain bandages to Mary's foot.

"Okay." Ib said. "That should do it. I think your hands are fine for now. But I don't know what do to with that gash on your face. And those scratches on your arms and neck…" Mary suddenly felt self-conscious and looked down. She crossed her arms and tried to cover the scratches on her neck with her short hair. She hated looking this way. All of these scratches were self-inflicted and she hated how blatantly they showed. Ib patted Mary's head. "It's alright. I understand."

Ib removed her cardigan. She placed it over Mary's bare arms and neck. "You can use this if you like. I know it doesn't match with your dress, but if it helps…"

Mary teared up. Ib was so kind. "Won't you be cold? All you have on is a camisole shirt."

Ib smiled. "It's okay. It's not really cold in here, anyway. It feels kind of nice to have it off. I was feeling a bit warm." Mary nodded and accepted it. She was grateful to have these hideous scratches covered.

"And if Ib gets cold, she can borrow my coat!" Garry grinned.

Mary glared at him. "No! She doesn't need your dirty coat! She can have her cardigan back if she feels cold!"

"Huh? My coat isn't dirty! Is it…?" Garry looked at his coat.

"And it's smelly!" Mary cried.

"Really? Because I think of something else here that is smellier…"

"Please, you two! Mary, don't be rude. Garry…" Ib trailed off.

"S-sorry, Ib." Garry immediately apologized.

Mary stuck her tongue out at him. "Kiss up."

"Mary…" Ib began.

_"Y'all are hilarious. My side is hurting from laughing back here."_

"Oh, you're still here. How did you get back there?" Mary crawled to the doll and retrieved it. She dusted it off and placed it on her lap. Garry was glaring at it. Mary noticed. "Are you scared of this doll, Garry?"

"W-why does everyone think that? For the last time, no. I just think it's unsettling…"

"Humph! Unsettling, fear, same thing."

"No, there is a clear difference."

"Explain, then, brave man."

"W-well, when I say unsettling, I mean-"

"H-how about we get ready to leave now?" Ib interjected. "You two sound well rested."

Garry looked relieved. "That's a good idea. I want to leave this place."

Ib and Garry grabbed the things they needed while Mary sat on the floor, watching. "Those two are acting pretty chummy…" She whispered to the doll.

_"Yup, seems so. They've always gotten along since they first met, haven't they?"_

"I guess…Stupid Garry…" Mary absentmindedly grabbed a book from the shelf near her. She opened it and read. She recognized the crude drawings and writing in the book. She closed it and saw the title. _Carrie Careless and the Galette des Rois._ It was the picture book that she made herself all those years ago out of boredom. It made her uncomfortable to see it now. It was hard to believe that she made up such a twisted little story when she was young. It just showed how bad her mental state was back then.

As Mary hastily stuffed the book back in its place, there was an unlocking sound. It seemed even now, the book still served as a key. _"I remembered that story. I was there when you made it."_

Mary looked at the doll. "Really? I barely remember making it. I just did it for fun and then made it into a key when Ib and Garry came."

_"Yeah…I helped you make it into a key. You always had just lying around so we put it to some good use. It's a good thing we did. It still works."_

"I remember that. Are you…Ciel?"

_"That's what you named me all those years ago."_

"It's really you, then? Why didn't you tell me it was you, Ciel? I missed you!"

_"I thought you woulda noticed. Maybe you didn't miss me after all…"_

"No! I really did! You were my favorite! You were my best friend in this whole place. I'm glad I could see you again!" Mary hugged the doll. She had only wondered briefly before if he was still around. But that was because she was preoccupied with surviving. Now she was genuinely glad to see him.

"What are you doing Mary?" Ib noticed her hugging the doll and smiled.

"I just found my old friend!" Mary said excitedly. "This is Ciel. He was my best friend when I was trapped in here ten years ago."

"Oh, is that his name? I'm sorry, Ciel. I never asked for your name. That was rude of me." Ib said.

_"Don't sweat it. I never asked for yours either."_

"He said it's alright." Mary spoke for the doll.

"So that's why it was so eager to save you." Garry chimed in. "It told me it wanted to save you because it didn't want to see Ib cry. It must have just really wanted to save Mary. It wanted to save its best friend."

"He." Mary corrected with a glare. "_He_, not 'it'."

"That's wonderful. If it wasn't for Ciel, we wouldn't have been able to save Mary." Ib looked warmheartedly at the doll.

"_He_…" Garry put an emphasis on it. "…did it to save Mary. Thanks…uh…Ciel…"

_"No prob. Just doin' my job."_

"And what job is that?" He asked.

_"Savin' your guy's butts." _

"Ciel, would you like to come and live outside, too?" Ib asked. "You can live with Mary and me."

"Really? He can? I want you to come with me this time, Ciel!" Mary squealed.

_"Well…shucks…I don't see why not."_

"Hold on a minute." Garry interjected. "Is it even possible for him to leave? He's a painting, just like everything else here."

"That's right…" Ib said thoughtfully.

"I don't see the problem. It's not like he's a whole human. He's just a little doll." Mary said.

"But if he's talking that means that he has a soul, right? That's the only think I could think of that would explain why he talks. I'm pretty sure that's what binds thing here. He's probably bound to this place by his soul. He exchange with someone else to get out." Garry continued.

"Are you talking about yourself now? Because you're also-"

"We can find out when we get to the exit." Ib interrupted quickly. She ended the conversation with that. "We need to keep moving."

"But, Ib, Garry is-"

"No 'buts'. That's enough. Gather your things, Mary. We need to get going. I'll go check outside to see if the coast is clear." Ib quickly got up and walked out the door. Garry looked like her wanted to stop her, but he just watched as she left.

Garry helped Mary up. She was astonished by Ib's reaction. She almost seemed angry when Mary mentioned Garry's situation. Garry was in the same position as Ciel. Why had it upset her so much? This was something they needed to talk about. Garry handed Mary her walking stick and she looked at him. He was standing stiffly and avoiding eye contact with her. Garry must know this, too. Why wasn't anybody talking about it?

"Are you ready?" Garry asked rigidly, still avoiding looking at her.

"Yes…Garry…About your situation…"

"I know. I've always known. I'll help you two get out and that will be the end of it. I'll explain it to Ib when the time comes."

Mary felt sad. She did fight with him a little, but she enjoyed his company. She trusted him, which was something she didn't do with people often. She didn't want to leave Garry behind. But she also didn't want to spend all of eternity in this world. Sacrifices had to be made. And Garry was willing to sacrifice himself. "Okay…" Mary quietly said.

The two walked out of the room and found Ib standing outside, looking absentmindedly down the hallway. She looked at them blankly and said, "There's nothing creeping around. It's safe."

"Thanks, Ib." Garry patted her head. He managed to squeeze out what looked like a forced smile. She took his hand and held it, examined it, before releasing it. Mary watched sadly. She knew how Ib felt about Garry. No wonder she became upset when Mary wanted to talk about Garry's predicament.

The group silently walked together. Sometimes they would speak to each other about what door to take or where the key would be. Mary would often chat with Ciel. Talking with him made her feel better about this whole mess. She wondered if he really would be able to get out or if he had to stay with Garry. It would be harder this time to leave him behind again. Mary hated goodbyes.

As Mary held Ciel in her arms she noticed how close Garry was walking next to Ib. It annoyed her, but she allowed it. Ib seemed to like it. She wouldn't interfere with something her big sister enjoyed. Mary wanted Ib to be happy. Ib never had it easy, what with her heart condition, so Mary was happy to see her big sister happy.

_"The red birdie likes to fly with the blue birdie, doesn't it?"_

Mary was confused at first with Ciel's statement, but she then she figured he must be code. Garry could also hear everything Ciel says and Ciel seemed to be talking about Ib's feelings. It was a sensitive topic. He was good at reading the situation. Or maybe it was it was just that obvious that the red birdie liked the blue birdie.

Mary giggled and nodded at Ciel. He always knew how to make her laugh. Having Ciel around was a big relief to Mary. He even helped her deal with the painting's harsh whispers. But Mary could only deal when the whispers were directed at her. She wasn't prepared to deal with whispers directed at Ciel.

_"Traitor." _They whispered.

_"Traitor."_

_ "Look, out. The traitor is coming through."_

_ "I smell a traitor among us."_

_ "Does he know the punishment for traitors?"_

_ "Oh, he does. He knows what happens to traitors."_

_ "There is no room for traitors here."_

_ "Traitors must be dealt with accordingly."_

Garry was also listening to the paintings. "Damn." He said nervously. "Is this what you hear all the time?"

"Usually they're talking bad about me." Mary said shakily. "But I don't think this is about me. I think they're talking about Ciel." She held Ciel closer to her.

_"Yeah…They're talking about me…" _Ciel quietly confirmed.

"Why? What's this about traitors?" Garry asked.

_ "I wasn't supposed to help Mary. I was supposed to let the madness take her. I was supposed to let her soul get eaten. But…I couldn't just watch…"_ Mary hugged Ciel tighter.

_"Traitor." _The paintings hissed. _"Traitor!"_

_"I kept everybody in this world from their meal. That's a big offense around here. And now I'm siding with you peeps. I know what happens with traitors…" _Ciel trailed off.

"What's going on?" Ib asked. She knew something was wrong.

"T-the paintings are calling Ciel a traitor for helping us. They're angry with him. W-what do they do with traitors, Ciel?" Mary stammered.

_"I think you know." _He said ominously.

"No! They can't! I won't let them hurt you!" Mary cried.

"I've seen it happen before…" Ib whispered.

"What do you m-mean, Ib?" Garry said.

"When I first entered this place ten years ago, I was looking for a way to get out by myself. I had to figure out some kind of puzzle to get through an unlocked door. This was before I found you, Garry." She went on. "Well, anyway, the puzzle involved numbers. There was a clue to finding a number in a room called The Liars Room."

_"I remember those guys." _Ciel said. _"Just a buncha dirty liars."_

"All of them lied about the location of the clue. All of them but one. The brown painting helped me find the clue I was looking for. But…when I saw it again…it was already…the other liars had…" Ib trailed off.

"I won't let anything happen to Ciel." Mary said.

"If it's like that around here, then Ciel really can't stay here anymore. Who knows what they will do to him if he doesn't leave with us?" Ib said.

"They will kill him." Garry stated.

"They will have to go through me." Mary took out her palette knife as if to emphasize her statement. "If anything tries to touch him, I'll cut them down."

"A-alright, we get it. You can put that away now." Garry said.

As he said this, they passed by a _Lady in Green_. None of them seemed to notice it. They were too engrossed in their conversation to see that the painting was active. Ib was closest to the painting and it reached out and grabbed her. She screamed in surprise and tried to shake it off. It appeared to be too strong for her. "Ib!" Both Mary and Garry yelled.

They both pulled on Ib in an attempt to get her away from the murderous painting. It would not let go of her, no matter how hard they pulled. It unexpectedly jumped off the wall and the two lost their grip on Ib. The painting began to rapidly drag Ib away. "Garry! Mary!" She cried.

"No!" Mary screamed. She tried to catch up to the painting. Her injuries would not allow her to go any faster. It was going so fast. Why couldn't she just pick up the pace? She was losing sight of her sister.

Garry ran ahead of Mary at lightning speed. He managed to catch up with the painting and lunged for Ib. He got a hold of her arm and was almost being dragged away himself. But somehow, Garry was stronger than the painting. He pulled Ib towards him. He had a tug of war with the painting over her. The painting finally let go of Ib and lashed out at Garry. It clawed at him and even tried to bite his hands. Garry frantically tried to kick it away and protect Ib from it at the same time. It would not let up.

Without thinking, Mary made her way to the struggle as fast as she could. She held Ciel in one hand and pulled out her palette knife. When the painting was within her reach, she blindly slashed at it. She did whatever it took for the painting to stop attacking Ib and Garry. The painted lady howled in pain and attempted to claw at Mary. Mary just cut through its painted fingers and stabbed it over and over. What looked like red paint splattered on her face.

How strange. That didn't happen with the jester. And unlike the time she murdered the jester painting, she did not get any pleasure from cutting it down. Instead, she was full of terror. She was so scared of it grabbing hold of her or having grab hold of Ib again. She ripped it to shreds and continued to slash it apart even after it's pained screaming silenced. She only stopped when Garry hugged her from behind and told her that it's alright now, that the painting was already dead. He held her until she calmed down and stopped panicking.

Mary looked down at the destroyed painted lady. If she had not known what it was before she massacred it, she would have wondered what it used to be. She felt shame burn in her mind. She had done it again. She had killed something again. And this time, there was evidence of it on her clothing. Tears fell down and she could see them hit the floor. _"It's alright, Mary." _

Mary looked around. She saw Ciel on the floor behind her. Somewhere in all of this, she had let go of him and let him hit the floor. She reached over and picked him up. Mary embraced him tightly and sobbed into his dark yarn hair.

She hated doing this. Each time she killed, something in her also died with her victim. And the worst part was that she couldn't stop herself from doing it. _"It's okay, Mary. I know you were doing it to protect us. You don't have to be so hard on yourself. We get it. It's okay." _Mary shook her head in response.

_"You saved us. There's nothing we could use to blame you for this. Look, you saved Ib. That's what you wanted."_

Mary lifted her head and looked over at her companions with tear-streaked cheeks. Garry was holding Ib and comforting her. Ib was also sobbing hysterically and appeared to be holding onto Garry as tight as she could. She was crying into his chest. Garry had his chin on her head and was stroking her hair gently while saying, "It's okay. You're safe now. I got you, sweetie. I won't let anything take you. I won't ever let anything drag you away. It's okay, sweetie." He kissed her forehead as if to comfort her further. He hugged her some more and looked at Mary. Mary stared at them for a few moments longer before crawling to them. Garry spread his arm out, made room for Mary, and then put his arm around her. She hugged Ib and Garry. Ib returned her hug.

Mary, Ib, Ciel, and Garry sat in a huddle for a long while. They embraced each other and comforted one another until each member of the group calmed down. All the while Mary thought how much she hated these experiences. They would stay with her all her life. There was no way to forget them.

She just wanted to go home with her sister. She wanted to them to be safe again. She wondered when this would all finally come to an end.


End file.
